Oquendo Displays Bombing Power in Knockout over Hawkins

by Pavel Yakovlev – photo by Joey Hill – Saturday night, Fres Oquendo reminded the world that he is more than just a skilled technician: he can also bang. Oquendo made his point by stopping Robert Hawkins in seven rounds, dominating the action with crackling right hands and a hurtful body attack. The early finish surprised many, as Hawkins is known for his durability. Oquendo’s speed, punching precision, and power, however, overwhelmed Hawkins and rendered a knockout unavoidable.

After battering Hawkins with jabs and well-placed body punches in the first two rounds, Oquendo shifted his attack to the head. Hawkins was knocked down twice in the third, and absorbed punishment for several more rounds before retiring at the end of the seventh. Repeatedly, the sturdy and thickset Hawkins was rocked by Oquendo’s grenade-like rights.

“I put my combinations together, and I put a lot of pressure on him,” said Oquendo. “In the third, I hit him with a left uppercut and a right, and he went down. After that, I floored him with a left to the body. My speed and power were too much for him. He was hanging in there only because he has so much heart, but my punishment made him quit.”

Particularly satisfying to Oquendo is that the victory came by knockout. “I stopped a guy that Tua couldn’t stop,” he said. “I showed everyone that not only am I a jabber and a mover, but that I have a body attack, and that I can punch.”

Oquendo is now 35-7, including 23 wins by knockout. Presently ranked 14th worldwide by the WBA, He is now seeking an elimination bout against a top contender. A native of Puerto Rico who grew up in Chicago, Oquendo holds the WBA Fedlatin title.

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From the Horse’s Mouth: Jason Gavern Assesses the Abilities of His Best Opponents

by Pavel Yakovlev: (August 19, 2012) Next month, Jason Gavern meets former IBF world cruiserweight champ Steve Cunningham in Newark, New Jersey. The bout marks Cunningham’s entre into the heavyweight division. Gavern has been selected as the opponent for a good reason: he is a tough, seasoned gatekeeper who has fought many of today’s leading heavyweights. Among Gavern’s opponents are current contenders Denis Boytsov, Mariusz Wach, Alexander Ustinov, Johnathon Banks, Franklin Lawrence, and Travis Walker. In this exclusive ESB interview, Gavern discusses his experiences with these fighters, analyzes their ring abilities, and assesses their future prospects.

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Bradley: I’m too high risk for Pacquiao

By Rob Smith: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley says he won’t be surprised if Manny Pacquiao chooses not to fight him in a rematch in his next fight on November 10th, as Bradley feels that he’s personally too dangerous for the Filipino to risk fighting again after having suffered a huge upset loss last June in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Carl Froch vs. Nicholson Poulard possible for November

By Marcus Richardson: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (29-2 21 KO’s) vs. light heavyweight contender Nicholson Poulard (19-3, 9 KO’s) is being talked about for Froch’s next fight in November in Nottingham. This is supposed to be Froch’s stay busy tune-up fight so it’s understandable why he might be taking on a lesser fighter compared to the guys he’s been facing recently. Poulard isn’t too well known, but he is known in Canada where he fights out of.

Poulard, 34, hasn’t been positively confirmed as Froch’s opponent as of yet, but we should know more tomorrow when Froch makes an announcement about his next opponent.

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Evander Holyfield calls out the Klitschko brothers again

By Rob Smith: Evander Holyfield, 49, is hoping that one of the Klitschko brothers will give him a fight so that Holyfield can try and capture another heavyweight world title before he retires someday. Holyfield hasn’t been ranked in the top tier for quite some time in the heavyweight division so it’s going to be a tad difficult for him to get one of the Klitschkos to bite on his offer.

Holyfield said to Sky Sports News “They [Klitschkos] have got an opportunity to probably make the biggest payday of their lives fighting Evander Holyfield…With the Klitshkos, they aren’t choosing to fight me, I’ve said I’ll fight them. All they got to do is realize that both of us will make money, then we’ll see who the winner is.”

Ignoring the fact that this would be terrible mismatch and the Klitschko brothers would take heaps of criticism from boxing fans if they took this fight, A fight between one of the Klitschko brothers and 49-year-old Holyfield would still do really well in Germany where the Klitschkos fight. The Klitschkos could sell out one of their 50,000 seat football stadiums if they fought Holyfield.

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George stops Miranda; Molina decisions Frias

By Michael Collins: In disappointingly dull fight ESPN2 Friday Night Fights card filled with mismatches, junior middleweight contender Carlos Molina (20-5-2, 6 KO’s) completely dominated a gun shy Damian Frias (19-5-1, 10 KO’s) in a 10 round unanimous decision victory on Friday night at the Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma. The final judges’ scores were 100-90, 100-90 and 100-90. I still don’t see the point of this fight being made, because it had mismatch written all over it the moment it was made.

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Froch to reveal his next opponent this Monday

By Michael Collins: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (29-2, 21 KO’s) will be making an important announcement this Monday to reveal who his next opponent will be in November at home in Nottingham, UK. Froch and his promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport has done a good job of keeping it secret about who the next guy will be for him. We’ve seen names like Kelly Pavlik and Thomas Oosthuizen mentioned and then ruled out unfortunately.

Froch deserves an easy fight at this point because he’s faced nothing but tough opposition for the last three years straight. Although I’m sure he prefers to face another quality opponent, it may not be possible for his November fight without his promoter giving the opponent a lot of money. The good fighters aren’t going to be got on the cheap unfortunately especially when they know how hard it is to beat Froch when he’s fighting in front of his home crowd in Nottingham.

Hearn said to Sky Sports News “The Bute fight night will go down in history as one of the greatest nights in British boxing history. Carl is chomping at the bit to get back into the ring and feel the roar of the Nottingham fans that he loves so much.”

Froch defeated Lucian Bute with ease last May, stopping him in the 5th round in what turned out to be a slaughter in Nottingham. Going into the fight many boxing fans felt that Bute’s power and boxing skills would be enough for him to beat the slower, slightly weaker Froch. However, Bute couldn’t stand up to Froch’s power and was immediately having problems in the 1st round when Froch was able to steadily back him up with his hard power shots.

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The Klitschko Dream & The Klitschko Legacy

by Geoffrey Ciani – The term Klitschko Dream typically refers to the goal of brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko to simultaneously hold all of the major world titles in heavyweight boxing. Mission accomplished! Wladimir now holds belts from three of the four main sanctioning bodies, while Vitali carries the fourth. This is an amazing feat. In fact, for the better part of the last eight years either one or both of the brothers has reigned supreme. Despite this impressive display of dominance, however, the Klitschko brothers remain largely unappreciated as heavyweight commodities, particularly in the US. Why is this?

Many observers viewed the Klitschko Dream as nothing more than a pipe dream back at the time when the two brothers both turned professional in November 1996. After all, the heavyweight landscape during this period had a great deal of depth and talent. Initially Wladimir was viewed as the more promising of the two brothers, largely because he captured the Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The overall early perception of the Klitschkos was a mixed bag. They were obviously big and strong, but often described as being robotic and uncoordinated. Plenty of question marks surrounded the two of them as they slowly worked their way up through the professional ranks.

Vitali would soon be seen as the better of the brothers following Wladimir’s shocking loss at the hands of Ross Purity in December 1998, which was just over two short years after the Klitschkos debuted. Wladimir’s loss to Purity had more to do with inexperience and poor pacing than anything else. Eager to put on an impressive performance while fighting for the first time in front of his hometown audience in Kiev, Wladimir simply punched himself out against a durable opponent, which allowed Purity to capitalize on Wlad’s physically and mentally exhausted state.

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De La Hoya Says Deontay Wilder Is A Heavyweight Thomas Hearns!

By James Slater: Fans have been waiting, and waiting for promising, talented heavyweight contender/prospect Deontay Wilder to step it up in terms of quality of opposition, and now, in speaking to Ringtv.com, Golden Boy head Oscar De La Hoya says that this is just what he plans to have “The Bronze Bomber” do next.

So far, aside from the odd decent opponent, the 26-year-old sole American boxing medallist in Beijing has fought guys Gene Wilder could defeat – but all that has now come to an end says De La Hoya.

“The plans are that it’s time to step him up,” Oscar said to Ring.tv. “It’s time to take him to the big stage – the HBOs and the Showtimes. It’s time to unleash Deontay Wilder, and he will be a serious, serious threat to the heavyweight division.

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Timothy Bradley Wonders If Manny Pacquiao May Be “Scared” Of A Rematch

By James Slater: With his likelihood of getting a lucrative return fight with Manny Pacquiao looking ever more doubtful (Bob Arum has said a rematch of the controversial June 9th fight does not appeal to enough fans willing to part with pay-per-view cash), unbeaten Tim Bradley has publicly asked whether or not the man he shocked and out-pointed just over two months ago is “scared” of facing him again.

Speaking exclusively with Mydesert.com, “The Desert Storm” said he needs to know if he’s going to get the rematch or not, that way he can get busy planning his next move. Bradley’s preferred option is definitely a return with Pac-Man, though – and Bradley feels he can do oh, so much better with two healthy legs.

“To be honest with you, I think a lot of people on that side are scared,” Bradley said. “He couldn’t KO me with two peg legs. Me healthy, I’m going to beat him worse. If Manny wants to do it, let’s do it. I’ve been sitting around here waiting. I want the fight, but he hasn’t decided yet.

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