Chavez Jr-Martinez: Dont Cry For Me Argentina

Chavez Jr-Martinez: Dont Cry For Me Argentina By PADRE – Who needs Mayweather and Pacman, when the boxing fans have been spoiled as of late, with various intriguing matchups. Another blockbuster one is coming up this Saturday when Sergio Martinez takes on Julio Chavez Jr. I will cut to the chase and spare you all the scenarios and say that I pick Sergio Martinez to beat Junior decisively. Sergio is a better boxer with great foot work , power and a fighters IQ that outclasses Junior. I honestly think we may be seeing a repeat of Pacman vs Margarito. I just hope that this time someone in Junior’s corner has the sense and decency to stop the onslaught and remember that he still has a future in boxing, if he doesn’t take a battering. We all see that Margarito never recovered from that beating and ended up retiring. There is only one caveat, only one major issue that I see that may cost Sergio the fight. It’s not Juniors size, which I think will actually be a disadvantage if he comes in heavy as Sergio is a nimble fighter, nor is it Juniors chin which is very good but if you chip away at any chin, it eventually crumbles. Nor is it the punching power of Junior as he wings wide shots and Sergio shoots short crisp shots down the pocket and will do so all night. No, it’s the utter disdain that Sergio has for Junior.

Anyone that has seen 24/7, the various press conferences or meetings these two have had in public has seen the disdain which Sergio has for Junior. He honestly doesn’t like this kid at all. I have seen fighters that didn’t like their opponents and it doesn’t hurt to build up some fire towards your opponent before a fight, but there is real animosity coming from Sergio towards Junior. He feels that this kid was handed the green belt, which I agree with. That he was protected and may have lifted to higher heights, not based on his efforts but because of his last name. He wants to show this kid a lesson and punish him. He has actually said he didn’t think he could win a decision against Chavez no matter what he did, so he will need to know him out and there lies the danger.

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Dawson Outclassed

By Emilio Camacho Esq. – As I predicted, Andre Ward outclassed Chad Dawson; however, there was several misses in my prediction.

First, I predicted that the first round would be uneventful and that Ward would win it. Although round 1 was indeed uneventful, surprisingly, Dawson looked sharp and strong thereby winning the round (at least in my view). Hence, I was only partially correct in my thoughts.

Second, I predicted that Dawson would win rounds 2 – 4. I was wrong. In rounds two and three, Ward unveiled his left hook droping Dawson to the canvas. Dawson had no hope after that and you could see it on his face. This is when we get to what I was talking about and the main argument of my previous article.

First, I stated that Ward would show us something we had not seen before and he did just that. Ward made the guy who defeated Tarver, Johnson, Hopkins, and Adamek, among others, quit in round ten after dropping him again. Dawson said he was “done.” In reality, almost no one expected a stoppage. I did not think the stoppage would come but I did think that Ward would be stronger and would show it in an extraordinary way. Well, he did.

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Chavez Jr…is this an act?

by Robert Jackson: HBO’s 24/7 series has for some time now been the MARKETING arm of its boxing empire, first seen prior to the Mayweather/De La Hoya fight and subsequently showcasing Pacquiao, Cotto and others , this series has no equal.

Currently the 2 episode Chavez/Martinez 24/7 is being shown and the contrast between the 2 fighters cannot be more disparate. Chavez Jr as shown, seems to be blowing this fight off, not taking it seriously and not preparing himself adequately. Martinez on the other hand is ‘all business’, can be seen preparing scientifically, working meticulously and not taking anything for granted.

The 2nd and final episode shown this past Saturday showed Chavez Jr skipping workouts with Freddie Roach, while also ignoring his father’s advise on tactics for fighting Martinez to instead take a dip in the pool of his rented house. Chavez Jr was also shown running at 2 o’clock in the morning and also sleeping all day, behavior totally unlike his nemesis who trains in the traditional manner getting up early in the morning to run after a good nights sleep.

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Ward vs Dawson: It was the WEIGHT!

by Robert Jackson: Well actually it wasn’t…totally, but as Miguel Cotto famously said following his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. “I tried to hit him, but I couldn’t”; Chad Dawson was also heard saying afterwards “he’s a lot faster and a lot stronger than I thought”. Also uttered by the 175lb champion were the buzzwords “I couldn’t get off tonight”; words usually associated with overtraining, making weight or the old boxing adage of a fighter having ‘left his fight in the gym’. Similar post-fight sentiments were put forth by Carl Froch after the Super 6 final where Ward unceremoniously, outfought and outhustled the British fighter to win the tournament. Froch had minimized Ward’s punching power and boxing ability prefight.

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Ward-Dawson: Andre Ward cements his place as a modern great

By Peter Wells: Maybe it’s about time we stopped the Mayweather, Pacquiao, who’s the best in the world argument. Andre Ward may just have trumped them both with another completely dominate display. Ward has already cleared out the Super Middleweight division, and Chad Dawson the best Light Heavyweight in the world, and a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter himself didn’t even come close to ending Ward’s unbeaten run that’s stretches back to when he was 12. When you look at Mayweather’s and Manny’s fights the last few years, they haven’t won each fight as clearly as Ward has. Andre has fought the best in his division and the best fighter in the division above, Mayweather and Pacquiao haven’t fought one another meaning they haven’t fought the best in their division.

Enough of that, this isn’t an article to argue who is the best in the world. Last night was Ward’s night as he was simply awesome in dominating the ultra talented WBC Light Heavyweight champion. In the build up many worried if Dawson could make the weight well, but looked good at the weigh in and weighed almost 10lbs heavier than Ward on fight night. Dawson enjoys fighting at his own pace, using his jab to control rounds. ‘S.O.G’ took away Dawson’s jab from the very start and after a slow first upped the pace to suit himself.

Ward’s footwork is something to admire. Any youngster starting boxing should definitely watch the way Ward uses his feet to set himself up to land shots and avoid shots coming back. Ward is also a great thinker and may well have won this fight using his brain, seeing shots that others wouldn’t notice if they stood their for 5 minutes let alone in a split second.

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Larry Merchant throws best jab of the night

by Paul Strauss: (Vitali stops Charr in 4th on bad cut), DeMarco vs Molina – Junior sits it out, Ward vs Dawson – Andre makes another one look easy

To start off the night’s festivities, HBO showed a replay of forty-one year old Vitali Klitschko’s 4th round TKO destruction of Manuel Charr at the Olimpiyskia in Moscow, Russia. After the fight, announcer Jim Lampley asked Larry about the possibility of David Haye remaining a thorn in the side of the Klitschko brothers. Larry reminded Jim about Haye’s “Loser’s Limp” display done after his fight with Wladimir when he removed his shoe to show everyone his injured little toe. The implication was that was the reason for his loss. In Larry’s deliberate manner, he said Haye should have removed his shorts, which would have revealed the the real reason for his loss. It was obvious Larry meant we wouldn’t be seeing any Fruit of the Looms.

Well, Dr. Iron Fist had his boxer shorts on while showing a total disregard for anything Charr might try to do. Vitali kept both hands low, inviting Charr to try something. Charr’s strategy seemed to be to tire out Vitali by letting him tee off on him? Well, let that be a lesson to fledging boxers. If you simply hold up what you hope is a tight guard, but don’t punch back, your opponent is going to find a way to penetrate your defense, as did Vitali. Soon he was getting through with a variety of shots, and by the third round a cut had developed over Charr’s right eyelid. In the fourth, Referee Guido Callverli stopped the action long enough for the ringside physician to take a look. After twice wiping away a considerable amount of blood, the doctor said no go, and the fight was stopped. Larry and Max Kellerman thought it might have been a little premature. They alluded to Moscow’s lack of experience with world title fights. Lampley pointed out the physician seemed to have a German sounding name and not a Russian one, for all that’s worth.

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Bellew stops Miranda in Nine – What next for the Bomber?

By Matt Amos – Last night Tony Bellew increased his standing in the 175 Pound Light Heavyweight division with a solid ninth round stoppage over erratic Columbian Edison Miranda. As predicted the “Bomber” needed to focus during the first four shared rounds but Miranda seemed too visibly tire as the fight progressed, frustrated by the long sharp jab and skillful body punches of the Liverpudlian. The Columbian had his moments with his powerful right hand but Bellew never seemed to be in trouble and his superior boxing skills ultimately ended the fight in the 9th when he displayed a nice variety of accurate punches, ending in a clinical left to the body which Miranda had no answer too as he refused to take any more punishment.

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Matthysse-Olusegun: Brave Ajose stopped after 10 classic rounds

By Peter Wells: It was never going to be easy. The Nigerian born Londoner has been the WBC mandatory challenger for several years, and has been overlooked the whole time. Then as though giving him a compensation prize, they pit him against arguably the best 140lbs fighter for the WBC Interim belt. Last nights performance may just have answered why they have overlooked him. He fought toe-to-toe with the hard hitting Lucas Matthysse and gave as much as he took, just not with the same force.

With his clear talents aired like on Showtime as main event, other sanctioning bodies will be adding Ajose to their lists. As for Lucas Matthysse he will get his long awaited world title shot against the winner of Danny Garcia vs Erik Morales (Garcia).

It was a brutal performance from Matthysse after a slightly tentative first round. Olusegun seemed to take the 1st, putting together good combinations. Ajose kept firing these eye catching combinations but Matthysse’s dynamite fists were always in reach to change the course of each round by sending his unbeaten opponent to the ropes before rallying. Ajose though was as tough as nails, going through several scary moments in the first half of the fight. Several times referee Russel Mora was close to stepping in on several occasions. Had it been any other fighter Mora may have stepped in, but knowing how long Ajose had waited for this chance, Mora gave him as much chance as possible. Ajose did dish out his own fair share of punishment, and after the fight Matthysse told Showtime analyst Jim Gray, “I felt his power tonight”.

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Andre Ward: Snapping At Mayweather’s Heels Pound-For-Pound!

By James Slater – “Chad Dawson is a monster in there,” Andre Ward

Last night, in taming “monster” Chad Dawson, the reigning light-heavyweight ruler, unbeaten master (yes, master) Andre Ward put on his best display so far in his naturally blessed career. Okay, Dawson had to shed eight-pounds in dropping down to super-middleweight, possibly weakening himself and affecting his punch resistance, but it really is tough to find any other fault with “S.O.G’s”, well, faultless performance.

The dominant force at the in-fighting, at the long range stuff and the harder, more accurate, more spiteful puncher, the 28-year-old from Oakland delighted both his hometown fans and the boxing purists. Indeed, fellow masters such as Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather Junior (two greats Ward has surely studied on tape and has learnt a trick or two from) will have enjoyed, even marvelled over Ward’s 10th-round TKO master class.

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How would tonight’s Andre Ward match up against the Joe Calzaghe who beat Mikkel Kessler?

by Geoffrey Ciani – Yes! It has already reached that point. Andre Ward is so good we are forced to look into the past in order to find a competitor worthy of his attention. That is the unique distinction Ward has earned with his total domination of ‘Bad’ Chad Dawson. Andre now finds himself in a similar situation as the Klitschko brothers. They are so dominant, that debating how they would fare against current contenders has become all too predictable. Creating hypothetical match-ups where the Klitschkos are pitted against former heavyweight greats is far more interesting than discussing the length of time it would take Wladimir or Vitali to dispose of someone like Alexander Povetkin. Unfortunately for Andre Ward, super middleweight history does not run as rich or deep as boxing’s most prestigious weight class. Therefore we are forced to look back on guys like Joe Calzaghe or Roy Jones Junior circa 1994 in order to actually find someone who may pose as a perceived challenge to Ward’s still growing talent (no disrespect to Andre Dirrell and Edwin Rodriguez).

Yes! Chad Dawson was weight drained. And yes! Andre Ward probably should have taken the fight at the light heavyweight limit of 175 pounds, but based on what we witnessed tonight, I do not believe it would have mattered whether they fought at 168, 170, 175, or hell, even 190! Ward simply proved to be a cut above Dawson. If the fight took place at light heavyweight Chad may well have possibly avoided the three knockdowns and made it to the final bell, but tactically speaking he had no answers for Ward. Everything Andre did was like a perfectly synchronized harmony. His movement, from head-to-toe, created a remarkable degree of elusiveness that Chad found impenetrable. This was abundantly clear right from the onset when Dawson could not find opportunities to even commit to his best weapon, his jab. Ward easily neutralized it from the get go, no adjustments necessary. Ward seized complete command of the action and dictated the fighting range to his liking throughout the one-sided contest. There was no one thing in particular that troubled Chad. Each and every thing Ward did worked, whether he was jabbing, throwing lead hooks, working the body with both hands, shifting Chad into position, owning the infighting, landing crisp blistering rights, slipping out of harm’s way, tearing brilliant uppercuts, or simply just keeping Chad wherever he wanted him to be. It was complete mastery of his opponent by Ward, and it all stemmed from his footwork and upper body movement, which were enough to neutralize Chad’s jab. Game over.

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