Mike Tyson Vs. Evander Holyfield: Which Fighter Has The Greater Legacy?

Mike Tyson Vs. Evander Holyfield: Which Fighter Has The Greater Legacy? by James Slater: Somewhat as it is with Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, the names Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson are destined to be forever linked. Though they only fought twice, with Holyfield winning on both occasions, Tyson and Holyfield had a long running rivalry, with a genuine grudge element added. The two were talked of as natural rivals as far back as 1987, when “The Real Deal” was a cruiserweight, but we had to wait – for one reason or another (jail, injury, etc) – until 1996 before the two mesmerizing heavyweights clashed in ring centre.

Today, quite amazingly considering the infamous “bite fight” of 1997, the rematch, the two have become pretty good friends (with Evander today releasing a Twitter pic of himself wearing a T-short mocking the bizarre DQ win he engaged in with “Iron” Mike. But who was the overall greater fighter, who has the greater legacy – Tyson or Holyfield?

Though many would ordinarily jump right on an article that prompts a debate about who was the better man between two fighters when one of them has beaten the other twice, I have a feeling this will not be the case here. Sure, Holyfield twice defeated Tyson, but this is “Iron Mike” we are talking about after all – a fighter with one of the most rabid and vocal groups of supportive and idolising fans in modern day boxing history.

continue

Pacquiao update: Still no opponent picked out and no date chosen for next fight

By Rob Smith: Manny Pacquiao and his promoter Bob Arum still haven’t selected an opponent for a date for Pacquiao’s next fight. All that is known now is that the fight will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on either November 10th or December 1st. We know that Pacquiao will chose amongst three fighters – Miguel Cotto, Tim Bradley or Juan Manuel Marquez – picked out for him to choose from by Arum but there’s still no word who that guy will be. Michael Koncz, the personal adviser for Pacquiao, had said that the name of the opponent could possibly be revealed this week, so hopefully they can finally say who the guy will be.

Cotto’s name is mentioned but the chances of him getting the fight are so slim that it’s not even funny. Cotto has already booked Madison Square Garden in New York for December 1st, and Pacquiao and Arum won’t likely agree to fighting in New York because of the State taxes that would be taken out if the fight took place there. Nevada doesn’t have state taxes, which is why the fight can only take place there and that’s not going to happen with Cotto having already booked Madison Square Garden.

The only choices for Pacquiao’s next opponent are Bradley or Marquez. It’s pretty clear that Arum seems to favor the soon to be 39-year-old Marquez because he helped bring in 1.4 million pay per view buys for Pacquiao’s last fight with him last November. That number was double the 700,000 PPV buys that Pacquiao-Bradley brought in last June. Just doing the math it suggests that Marquez is overwhelmingly the favorite to get the fight with Pacquiao.

continue

Chavez Jr says to Martinez: You can’t get away from me inside the ring

By Rob Smith: WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KO’s) believes that his opponent Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KO’s) will be using a lot of movement on September 15th to try and keep away from his heavy pressure in their HBO fight at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, the 26-year-old Chavez Jr. doesn’t see Martinez having much success in trying to keep away from him.

Chavez Jr. said to Max Kellerman of HBO on their recent Chavez Jr-Martinez face off with Kellerman: “The ring is square like this. [Chavez Jr. then uses his hand to draw an imaginary square on the table]. You can’t get out.”

Martinez: “Neither can you.”

Martinez will likely fight Chavez Jr. as he’d done against past slow-footed sluggers such as Kelly Pavlik and Alex Bunema by using constant movement mixed in with periodic attacks. Martinez probably won’t throw a lot of punches, but he’ll make his shots count by landing the harder shots. The much heavier Chavez Jr. has little choice but to try and cut off the ring on Martinez to try and force to fight on the inside, as Chavez Jr. doesn’t have great skills on the outside, and he won’t be able to move a lot without taking a big risk that he may tire out like we’ve seen him do in some of his past fights. Tiring out against a fighter like Matt Vanda is one thing, but if Chavez Jr. fades against Martinez he could get knocked out.

continue

Carl Froch to face Yusaf Mack on November 17th in Nottingham

By Michael Collins: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (29-2, 21 KO’s) will be taking on a soft opponent for his next fight against recent Tavoris Cloud knockout victim light heavyweight Yusaf Mack (31-4-2, 17 KO’s) in a scheduled 12 round bout on November 17th at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, UK. The fight doesn’t really make a lot of sense because Mack has already been knocked out by Glen Johnson in 2010, a fighter that Froch already beat in the Super Six tournament. It just looks like a mismatch.

Mack, 6’1″, will have to drop down from light heavyweight to make the fight with the 35-year-old Froch and you can imagine that Mack will be weakened from the process of making weight. It’s already a mismatch going in but when you add to that Mack having to take off weight to get down to the 168 lb limit then you’re really talking mismatch.

Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn from Matchroom Sport did his best to try and hype Mack as an opponent, saying to Sky Sports News “He’s got nothing to lose coming here to face me and I know he’ll put it all on the line to take the title from me so I’ll be fully prepared for everything he’s got and I’ll be hitting him with all my best.”

“Nothing left to lose” sounds like code to me to mean Mack only has a puncher’s chance in this fight. In other words, this is a mismatch.

continue

Fres Oquendo is Shelved for Six Weeks with a Broken Hand

By Pavel Yakovlev, photo by Joey Hill – Heavyweight contenders can sigh with relief…at least for a while. Fres Oquendo is out of action for six weeks due to a broken right hand. The injury occurred during the Boricua Bomber’s seventh round stoppage of Robert Hawkins last week. In the third round, Oquendo landed numerous crunching rights, twice flooring the brick-chinned Hawkins and nearly ending the fight. But by the end of the round, Oquendo’s right was throbbing with pain. The next day, an orthopedist confirmed what Oquendo and his cornermen suspected: that the hand was broken.

“My hand was in excruciating pain. I felt it for the whole fight after the third,” said Oquendo. “But I didn’t tell anyone. I just wanted to get the job done.” Oquendo compensated for the injury by switching his attack to the body, even though he continued to fire rights to the head. Oquendo’s manager Tom Tsatas explained, “Fres didn’t let up despite the pain. He knew Hawkins has a hard head, so he started driving both hands to the body. It worked.”

continue

Yusaf Mack To Challenge Froch, Nov. 17th?

By James Slater: Earlier this week, when the news broke that Carl Froch would be defending his IBF super-middleweight title at his hometown arena, The F.M in Nottingham, there was speculation over who “The Cobra” would be facing.

A number of names were mentioned, including Philly’s Yusaf Mack, but in a news piece in The Daily Star it was reported that Mack was unwilling to put pen to paper and accept the terms offered to him. Well, according to a new piece on Ringtv.com, it appears as though 32-year-old Mack, 31-4-2(17) has had a change of heart and has agreed to the November fight.

Ringtv.com reports that the fight is a done deal for Nov. 17th, and that Froch will then fight former IBF champ Lucian Bute in a contractually agreed rematch at a date to be confirmed. If it is Mack next for Froch, some fans may well moan a little, as used as they are to seeing 35-year-old Froch, 29-2(21) fight the very best (Froch’s last eight fights being, in order, Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Glen Johnson, Andre Ward and, last time out, the 5th-round stoppage win over Bute – a crazy resume if ever there was one!)

But Froch, having his second fight in a row at home, is more deserving than most when it comes to having an “easy” fight. But this is to perhaps pay a disservice to the tough and experienced Mack.

continue

Evander Holyfield: Is “The Real Deal” About To Call Time On His Legendary Career?

By James Slater – Over the weekend, a number of boxing web sites ran with the story of WBC heavyweight king Vitali Klitschko basically ruled out a fight living legend Evander Holyfield (I read the story on Examiner.com).

Fans will not in any way have been shocked by this statement by Klitschko, as he and his younger brother are class acts, neither one wanting to either hurt or humiliate the once-great Holyfield, nor get arrested for murder. Speaking very much for his brother as well no doubt, Klitschko has made it clear: there is no big fight left out there for the 49-year-old former four-time ruler.

Holyfield has said himself that he will not take a meaningless non-title fight “just for the sake of fighting,” and we must now hold him to his word. With a Klitschko fight now as dead in the water for him as can be, Evander surely has nowhere to turn but towards the exit door.

In truth, the future Hall of Famer who last fought in May of last year (a win: a 10th-round TKO over fellow veteran Brian Nielsen) should have called it quits a number of years ago, say after his close points loss to the huge Nikolay Valuev (this December 2008 fight being “The Real Deal’s” last good showing).

continue

Rumour Mill: Freddie Roach Wants Pac-Man Vs. Khan?

By James Slater – Whilst scanning the web for the latest boxing news, I came across an intriguing little ‘story’ (well, maybe not so little – at least the story won’t be if it turns out to be true!) that suggests ace-trainer Freddie Roach now wants to see his star pupils, Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan, fight one another soon.

According to the piece on The Moment (as picked up by Opposing Views), Roach “Is pushing for the boxer (Khan) to step up from the light-welterweight division to take on Manny Pacquiao. Roach now wants Khan to move up to 147-pounds where he can take on stable-mate and good friend Pacquiao.”

Of course, this ‘story’ could turn out to be no real story at all, and just a load of baloney, but boxing is a weird sport at times and, with both Pac-Man and “King Khan” coming off defeats (albeit a robbery in the eyes of millions in Manny’s case), maybe the fight could happen.

It sure would prove to be a shock if Team-Pacquiao’s forthcoming next opponent announcement told the world he will indeed be fighting Khan.

continue

Dawson-Ward: Super Middleweight Super Fight

By Eric Roman Sr: April 6th, 1987: the date we got to see two of the greatest fighters of all time come together for a historical event that boxing fans around the globe still argue about day in and day out. Sugar Ray Leonard came out of retirement to face the defending Middleweight Champion of the world, Marvelous Marvin Hagler. The outcome of that bout has been debated in barber shops and boxing gyms for over two decades; come September 8th 2012, HBO will grace us with a “super” match up between two of the sports most outstanding talents, at a weight division only eight pounds heavier then 1987’s original “Super Fight”.

WBC Light Heavyweight World Champion “Bad” Chad Dawson will come down in weight to face the smaller Undisputed Super Middleweight World Champion Andre”S.O.G” Ward. Although these two combatants may not be at the popularity level that Leonard and Hagler were at that time, there are many eerie similarities to point out that make this one just as important as the one the Hall of Famers gave us a quarter of a century ago. Dawson, the bigger fighter and a southpaw like Hagler, didn’t have a prestigious amateur background, he got his recognition as a pro, fighting big names and winning big fights. Also, like “the Marvelous One”, Chad Dawson grew up in New England with a chip on his shoulder, which gives him the sense of being the meaner of the two. Ward on the other hand is a pure bred natural talent. His speed and focus got him a Gold Medal in the Athens Olympics much like Sugar Ray did in 1976, and he is a crowd favorite. A charming guy with a great smile. He got through the Super Six Tournament with ease, and showed the world that brains overcome braun in boxing on any given night, but thats what makes this fight so anticipating.

continue

Steward sees Wach as a tough opponent for Wladimir

By Michael Collins: Trainer Emanuel Steward has some concerns about the 6’7 1/2″ unbeaten heavyweight contender Mariusz Wach (27-0, 15 KO’s) as being a tough fight for IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (58-3, 51 KO’s) in their fight on November 10th at the O2 World Arena, Altona, in Hamburg, Germany.

Steward told fightsaga.com “I have my work cut out for me with this assignment. Wach will not only be the biggest opponent Wladimir has fought since we’ve been together, he will also have the mentality of an undefeated fighter when he steps in the ring.”

Wach has won all of his 27 fights, but he’s also not fought anyone that you could call good. He’s still at the Tye Fields level, and now he’s being put in with Wladimir. I’m sure Wach wants the fight and the payday that goes along with it, but he’d have been better off waiting until he’d at least fought two or three contenders so that he could pick up more experience before fighting for a world title. Wach has excellent power in his right hand, but that’s about all he’s got. His jab is like like limp spaghetti noodle, and his left hand is virtually nonexistent. But perhaps the biggest flaw in Wach’s game, besides the lack of a punch arsenal and experience, is his slow hand speed.

continue