Klitschko vs. Wach this Saturday

Klitschko vs. Wach this Saturday By Rob Smith, photo: michaelsterlingeaton.com – IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (58-3, 50 KO’s) will be defending his titles this Saturday night against the huge and lumbering Mariusz Wach (27-0, 15 KO’s) at the O2 World Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Wladimir says he’s taking this fight against the inexperienced Wach because none of the other top heavyweights want to fight him.

It’s hard to imagine that being true when there are arguably at least 20 heavyweights that Wladimir could pool from that would give him a tougher test than the 32-year-old Wach. Perhaps the more likely reason that Wladimir selected Wach, besides him being an easy mark, is because of the large Polish fan base that Wach has.

Setting up a fight with Wach is a good money bout compared to some of the other more dangerous options. This is why Wladimir will likely take on another Polish heavyweight in Tomasz Adamek next year in what shapes to be about as bad a mismatch as Wladiimr’s fight against Wach.

continue

Huck vs. Klitschko will be a tough sale now in Germany

By Dwight Chittenden: If IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko does turn and decide on fighting WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck, he may not get the kind of attention that previously may have been available before last night. In yet another fight involving Huck, he defeated 42-year-old contender Firat Arslan by a hugely controversial decision in Germany and the fight result of the fight wasn’t agreeable with the German public that watched the fight live at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Huck is becoming a regular to controversial decisions and for the most part they seem to favor him. But this kind of thing is starting to wear thin, and he didn’t help himself any getting a decision given to him that boxing as a whole didn’t agree with. But even you ignore the controversial decision, which is impossible to do, you can’t can’t around how poorly Huck fought against Arslan. Huck’s shots were picked off all night on the gloves of Arslan, and Huck just looked weak and inept.

If Wladimir wants to fight Huck after this it could be the equivalent of a stink bomb wherever the fight takes place. If Wladimir wants to fight a cruiserweight then he should be fighting Arslan, not Huck. That sends the wrong message when you fight a guy that appeared to lose in the minds of many boxing fans.

continue

Grachev: I only lost three or four rounds against Bute

By Michael Collins: Former NABF light heavyweight champion Denis Grachev (12-1-1, 8 KO’s) was having a hard time coming to terms with his 12 round unanimous decision loss to former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (31-1, 24 KO’s) last Saturday night at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Candada. Grachev, 30, felt that he lost no more than four rounds at the most despite the fact that he was getting hit with the better shots and not doing enough against the defensive-minded Bute to win.

Grachev said after the fight as quoted by the Montrealgazette.com “The judges were unfair. Maybe I lost three or four rounds.”

I had Grachev winning three to four rounds, but I couldn’t give him 8 or 9 rounds without ignoring all the jabs and left uppercuts that Bute was nailing him with all throughout the fight. If you ignore Bute’s nice shots then you can give Grachev 9 rounds easy. However, that’s not how boxing is. It’s natural that Grachev isn’t happy about losing the fight, but he needs to sit down and watch the fight again to see how he failed to do the things he needed to do in order to win.

continue

Froch sees Bute’s win against Grachev as a so-so performance

By Michael Collins: Carl Froch thinks that Lucian Bute didn’t look great in beating Denis Grachev by a 12 round unanimous decision last night in Bute’s win in Montreal, Canada. But Froch believes that it was a situation where Bute needed any kind of win to get over the hump of his knockout loss to Froch last May.

Froch said to Sky Sports News: “Let’s be honest, it wasn’t the most impressive performance from Lucian Bute that I’ve ever seen. Bute didn’t really impress, but it was a comeback fight from a devastating defeat against myself, so what did people expect? He needed to find his feet again, find his confidence. I’m sure he’s done that. I think mentally he needed to get that fight in the bag.”

Bute actually didn’t look that bad. What was missing from the performance was of course a knockout for Bute. However, he was fighting a guy in Grachev that even Froch likely wouldn’t be able to KO. Grachev has a great chin and he doesn’t stand in one place and let you punch on him. He moves around and he’s a solid guy.

continue

Arslan feels he was robbed in Huck fight

By Dwight Chittenden: Right now 42-year-old #8 WBO Firat Arslan (32-6-2, 21 KO’s) is feeling really upset about being on the losing end of a controversial 12 round unanimous decision against WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (35-2-1, 25 KO’s) last night at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Arslan fought well, landed the better punches in the fight, and had the crowd firmly behind him from start to finish. However, instead of being given the decision, Arslan was handed a nice big loss for all his trouble with the judges giving the frequently lucky Huck the win by the scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 117-111.

Arslan said this moments after the fight had ended “I’ve seldom landed so many clean punches and the only scuffed me. How can such a thing happen? I landed so many punches. I think the whole crowd believes I’m the winner. I’ve been robbed of my win. I would have been the new world champion today. I would have written history.”

continue

Bute defeats Grachev; Green stops St Juste

By Michael Collins: Former IBF super Lucian Bute (31-1, 24 KO’s) had to really battle hard to defeat previously undefeated NABF light heavyweight champion Denis Grachev (12-1-1, 8 KO’s) by a 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Canada. The fight was a lot harder than what many boxing fans thought it was going to be and it was strange to see Bute struggling so badly against a fighter that didn’t look all that special. The judges scores were 115-113, 118-110 and 116-112.

This wasn’t the kind of performance that Bute was looking for to prove that he’s ready and capable of defeating IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch in their planned rematch in the first quarter of next year. Bute was hit often by the 30-year-old Russian and had problems getting out of the way of his shots. Bute made it easy for Grachev by constantly backing up to the ropes and trying to find one big shots.

continue

Q and A with Atlantic City’s Bantamweight KO Artist Qa’id Muhammad returning to action from hand injury

By Lou McLaughlin: I was given the opportunity to interview via telephone Qa’id “Kid Dynamite” Muhammad. Qa’id from Atlantic City, New Jersey is a bantamweight whose record is 7-0 (6 KO). He is managed and trained by his father Abdur Rahim Muhammad. Qa’id was having a knockout streak having won all 7 of his fights and six won by stoppage. Then in training he suffered a setback breaking his hand. He is scheduled to return to action at Fitzgerald’s Casino & Hotel, Tunica, Mississippi on November 3rd against Jamal “The Mailman” Parram 6(4)-6(3)-1
Q- How did you break your hand? How long have you been sidelined by the injury? And how is it feeling?

continue

Huck beats Arslan in unpopular decision

By Kevin Chittenden: Making his 10th defense of his World Boxing Organization cruiserweight title champion Marco Huck (35-2-1, 25 KO’s) took a real beating from challenger Firat Arslan (32-6-2, 21 KO’s) in successfully defending his belt by a 12 round unanimous decision tonight at the at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. The judges scored it 115-113, 115-113, 117-111(!).

However, the decision was met with boos from the large crowd, many of which thought that the 42-year-old Arslan had done more than enough to deserve the decision. It’s hard to argue with that because Arslan landed the cleaner punches in virtually every round of the fight. He was snapping Huck’s head with uppercuts and had his nose swollen up and looking broken. Huck’s face was red from the many shots he absorbed in the fight.

Huck did throw a lot more punches but many of them were picked off on the gloves of Arslan, and the ones that did land had no affect on him. Arslan was never hurt and wasn’t slowed down in the least by Huck’s constant shots.

continue

Interview with Newark Heavyweight Aaron “The Animal” Kinch

By Lou McLaughlin: As New Jersey recovers from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, Newark heavyweight Aaron “The Animal” Kinch was generous to give me time for an interview. Aaron is in the midst of preparing for his next bout November 10 at the River Edge in Reading, Pennsylvania. Kinch winner of 3 (KO 1) + lost 0 (KO 0) + drawn 1 will be facing Randy Easton of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. After a sterling amateur career Kinch at the age of 30 decided to go pro. Although it is a late start Kinch has been fast tracking as November 10th will be his fourth fight in 2012. I have attended two of Aaron’s fights and seen him spar at the Elite Heat Boxing Gym of Newark. His style is reminiscent of James Toney. He has cute defensive moves and is deceptively fast. He is trained by John Thompson III a.k.a. “Brother Ya Ya”. Thompson also trains his son John Thompson IV a Newark Light Middleweight

continue

Golovkin vs. Oosthuizen on 1/19

By Rob Smith: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) is heading for a clash against unbeaten super middleweight contender Thomas Oosthuizen (20-0-1, 13 KO’s) if the fight can get get put together. Golovkin, 30, would be moving up in weight for one fight to take on the tall 6’4″ International Boxing Organization (IBO) super middleweight champion Oosthuizen at MSG Theater, in New York, New York, USA in a fight that will be televised in the United States nationwide.

It’s come to this after the fight that Golovkin wanted against IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale didn’t materialize due to Geale choosing to fight fellow Australian Anthony Mundine in a better money fight. Once it was known that Geale was going to take that fight instead of the World Boxing Association ordered fight against Golovkin, the WBA wasted no time in stripping Geale of his WBA title.

However, he reportedly knew that he had to face Golovkin next after the WBA told him when he first captured the WBA belt against Felix Sturm last September but he still opted for the bout against Mundine. With that fight unable to take place, Golovkin’s promoters at K2 are looking to put a fight together with the 24-year-old Oosthuizen.

continue