Klitschko vs Charr: Manuel Charr Interview

Questions & answers with Manuel Charr (21-0, 11 KO), a challenger for the WBC heavyweight title. The Lebanon-born Charr, nicknamed “Diamond Boy” will face Vitali Klitschko (44-2, 40 KO) on Saturday in Moscow, Russia.

Q: Hello Manuel, please tell us something about you history, your family and origin. How did you get to Germany?

A: My father was a Syrian citizen but I was born and raised in Lebanon. Sadly my father died in 1986 during the war. We have lived in Beirut till we came over as fugitives to Germany in 1989. We, that have been my mother, my 5 sisters, my 2 brothers and I. I was just 6 years old. First we stayed for a couple of weeks in Berlin Wedding and then we moved to Katernberg (a district of Essen) next to Gelsenkirchen, in the center of Germany. There I grow up, went to school and learned German.

Q: Do you visit Syria sometimes?
A: I do have some family there, but me close family is in Germany, so I hardly go over there.

continue

What Must Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. Do To Beat Sergio Martinez?

By Sean Ocampo – Undefeated WBC Middleweight Champion Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KO’s) will put everything on the line against pound for pound great and former Middleweight title holder Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez (49-2-2, 29 KO’s) at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chavez is going into this fight as underdog because of Martinez’s undeniable skills and his reputation as one of the very best in boxing. Chavez will have the toughest test of his career this coming September 15, 2012. Will he pass the test or will he flunk it?

These are the keys on how Chavez will succeed against Sergio Martinez.

PRESSURE

Chavez has to take away Martinez’s footwork and footspeed. That’s easier said than done, but it’s pretty much doable in the fight game. Martinez is most dangerous when he’s outside. We’ve seen him knockout or knockdown opponents when he’s fighting outside, just like when he knocked out Paul Williams. With constant pressure from Chavez, he should be able to cut the ring and take away the breathing space of Martinez. Once he cuts the ring, he’ll be able to land his hard combinations to the head and body. Perfect example for this would be Chavez’s last fight with Andy Lee, who is coincidentally a southpaw.

continue

Khan will make a mistake if he dumps Freddie; Danny Garcia’s strategy wrong for Morales rematch too

By Paul Strauss: Amir Khan apparently is looking for another trainer, because he doesn’t want to continue sharing Freddie Roach’s time with Manny Pacquiao. On the surface that seems reasonable; although, it presents obvious problems finding a suitable replacement. It’s a safe bet he’s going to find similar circumstances exist with all of the big name trainers.

Some boxing fans, not necessarily Khan’s, claim Freddie can’t teach the defensive skills Amir needs to protect what some fans believe to be his suspect chin. There’s some truth to that, but it isn’t because Freddie doesn’t have the know-how. Rather, it’s because Freddie’s fighters are generally aggressive fighters, and everyone knows a fighter is most vulnerable when he’s punching.

Of course there’s the old adage that a good offense is a good defense. In football, it can simply mean out scoring your opponent, but it can also mean keeping the ball out of the hands of the opposition. They can’t score without the ball. For it to work, the team better have a good line and a punishing running back, or maybe a good short passing game, because if they just throw it down field, hoping to score fast and big, it’s not likely they will keep the ball long enough to accomplish what they want. In fact, the reverse might be true.

continue

Golovkin says he’s ready for anyone from Mayweather to Ward?

By Paul Strauss: Gennady G.G.G. Golovkin did a pretty good job Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. trying to establish his worthiness for all comers. Quite often when a fighter boasts he’s ready for the best (in several divisions), his words are dismissed as just so much talk. Fans realize that often a fighter is trying hard to convince himself as much as anyone else.

In Golovkin’s case, Fans might dismiss the apparent bragging as a problem in translation. Maybe English translated to his native Kazakh (or possibly Russian) language back to English got mixed up with the effort. One thing for sure, Golovkin did a number on the previously once defeated Polish southpaw fighter named Grzegorz “Super G” Proksa, who sported twenty-one knockouts of his own to surpass Golovkin’s twenty. Going into Saturday night’s bout, he was viewed as no slouch, but despite that fact, Golovkin managed to knock him stiff.

Just cruising along in the first round, Golovkin still managed to drop Proksa. There was thought by some he might have slipped or stumbled over Golovkin’s feet. Doubt diminished In the second round, when G.G.G. fired off several particularly nice left hooks to the body, which changed the expression on the Polish fighter’s face to something resembling a silent scream.

continue

Martinez vs. Chavez Jr: “Nature versus Nurture”

by Marc Livitz: Provided the Mayan prophecy doesn’t turn us all inside out and upside down, we may find anywhere from a glimmer to a thermal radiation flash’s worth of excitement in the time left for boxing in 2012. There’s always hope for a sport which although is somewhat in the periphery of many continues to refresh itself in so many different ways.

The gym ghosts of years past are not exactly smiling, but they are at least maintaining a healthy smirk. Outside of the consistent barrage of “the big one”, various promoters have managed to see the light and throw together some interesting contests for the fall. As most of us know by now, the middleweight title (most of it) will be on the line in two weeks’ time.

A matchup between Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. and Sergio Martinez should satiate even the most discriminating pugilistic palate. So many in and around the fight game swore to the gills that little Julio was struck with terror in regards to a night in the ring with “Maravilla”.

continue

Austin Trout: “Cotto is a future Hall of Famer, but this is my time now”

By Joseph Herron: It’s Official! On December 1st, three division world champion and future Hall of Famer Miguel Angel Cotto (37-3, 30 KOs) will take on current WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout (25-0, 14 KOs) at the world renowned Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY.

When most boxing insiders didn’t believe Austin would ever get the opportunity to showcase his skills on the biggest stage of boxing, the Las Cruces, New Mexico resident always had faith that his time would eventually come.

“I’ve definitely paid my dues,” claims the 26 year old southpaw fighter. “But I really have to thank Al Haymon for this big fight. He told me that he was working on something big, and he really delivered.”

The big 154 pound title fight will easily be Austin’s toughest test to date. Not only will the young chameleon be facing a three division warrior who can box and punch proficiently, but the reigning title holder will also be fighting in the hostile confines of Cotto’s venue of choice; Madison Square Garden.

Austin believes the pro-Cotto crowd won’t be a problem.

continue

Golovkin with a lot of options for big fights after blasting out Proksa in five

By Rob Smith: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) is now in a great position to get some big fights whether it be at junior middleweight, middleweight or super middleweight, after Golovkin made easy work in beating #3 WBA Grzegorz Proksa (28-2, 21 KO’s) by a beautiful 5th round knockout on Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. Before the fight, which was televised on HBO, a lot of casual boxing fans in the U.S didn’t have a clue who Golovkin was, but they can’t say that now after witnessing his impressive three knockdown performance in stopping Proksa.

Golovkin says he’s willing to fight the top names at 154, 160 and 168. This means that Golovkin isn’t limited to just waiting on guys like Sergio Martinez or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to finally face him. He can go after the top guys at 154 like Miguel Cotto and Saul Alvarez, or go after the big names at super middleweight such as Carl Froch, Lucian Bute, Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler.

It definitely helps that Golovkin has the ability to fight in three divisions at any given time to get the biggest fights available because in this boxing climate today with promoters protecting their fighters from dangerous opposition, it could prove near impossible for Golovkin to get any really important fights if he stays strictly in one division. Golovkin needs to be able to chase down fights in at least three divisions at a time if he wants to become a star in a short period of time.

continue

Golovkin destroys Proksa in easy win; Dzinziruk-Gonzalez fight to 12 rd draw

By Dwight Chittenden: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) made it look easy tonight in halting Poland’s Grzegorz Proksa (28-2, 21 KO’s) in a a 5th round knockout at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino, in Verona, New York. Golovkin knocked the badly overmatched Proksa down three times before the brutal slaughter was ended in the 5th round with Proksa knocked face down on the canvas.

Golovkin put Proksa down in the 1st, 4th and the last time in the 5th. You could tell that the end was near in the 4th round when Golovkin knocked Proksa down with a powerful right hand to the head. Although Proksa was also knocked down in the 1st, but this time he was really hurt and he took punishment for the remainder of the round.

In the 5th round, Golovkin came out like a shark smelling blood in the water, ignoring Proksa’s futile attempts to fight him off with wild shots, Golovkin got Proksa near the ropes and badly hurt him with a big right hand. Proksa, now staggering, was helpless as Golovkin added the finishing shots to the head to put him down face first on the canvas. Proksa gamely got to his feet but he was badly dazed and the referee did the right thing by calling a halt to the fight at 1:11 of the round.

continue

Pacquiao still not saying who his December 8th opponent will be

By Rob Smith: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had said that there was a chance that Manny Pacquiao would be naming his next opponent today for his fight on December 8th. Although today isn’t it over yet, it looks like Pacquiao will continue to keep quiet about who he’ll be fighting in his next fight. It’s down to Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez now that Miguel Cotto announced that he’ll be fighting on December 1st against WBA junior middleweight champion Austin Trout.

Pacquiao and Arum are trying to get the best deal financially between what’s left to pick from but it’s got to really hurt that Cotto, who arguably was the biggest moneymaker of the three potential opponents, dropped out of the race. Now it’s Marquez and Bradley, and the two fighters have different things asking for in terms of money. It’s not all that cut dried with Marquez being the better option because of his past big money fights on pay per view against Pacquiao last November and against Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2009.

Marquez wants to be paid well, and he’s not going to be gotten for cheap. But Bradley reportedly wants a lot of money as well for the fight. According to philstar, Bradley is looking for eight figure payday for this fight. That’s a ton of money, and twice the amount that he got last time. Arum is an expert at negotiating and he’ll likely do a good job of getting both Bradley and Marquez to come down in their asking price for a Pacquiao fight.

continue

Geale won’t last long against Golovkin

By Michael Collins: I hope IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale savors his victory tonight over WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm because he’s not likely going to hold onto his title for very long once he ends up facing WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin. Let’s be real about this. You might as well register that as a knockout loss for Geale unless he ducks Golovkin entirely. I wouldn’t be surprised nor would I blame Geale for dodging a fight against the hard hitting Golovkin, because he doesn’t have a prayer or winning that fight.

Once that fight is scheduled, Geale might as well see it as an appointment to get knocked out.

I give Geale plenty of credit for beating Sturm tonight. He did an excellent job of coming on in the second hafl of the fight to get the better of Sturm with his pressure and high work rate. Sturm played the usual possum game and tried to steal rounds like he usually does by fighting in spurts, but Geale was having none of it. He knew what he had to do to beat the German fighter by keeping him under constant pressure.

continue