By James Slater: It has officially been confirmed how good friends “Fast” Eddie Chambers and Tony “The Tiger” Thompson will meet, in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator, on October 28th in Atlantic City – the night before the “Super Six” grand final between Andre Ward and Carl Froch. Showtime will televise.
With a big crowd expected in A.C due to the conclusion of The Boxing Classic tournament set for the 29th, there figures to be a healthy crowd in attendance at the fight between the two men many fans look at as amongst the top two or three best heavyweights in America today.
Chambers-Thompson could go either way. But will the fight be exciting?
Chambers, 36-2(18) and younger than Thompson by a decade at age 29, has won one fight since his failed attempt at taking Wladimir Klitschko’s belts. While Thompson, 36-2(24) has won five straight since his own late-rounds KO loss to “Dr. Steel Hammer.” Now the two slick boxers meet in an effort to earn another crack at the mighty Ukrainian.
Southpaw Thompson has the edge in punching power (and he has predicted a stoppage win), while Chambers has the faster hands and maybe the faster reflexes period. A chess-match-type affair is an extreme possibility, with the purists, if not the slugfest lovers, being in for an enjoyable fight. Both men have a good chin (with each guy being stopped only by Wlad) and both fighters are well practiced in going 10 or 12 complete rounds – Thompson having gone ten or more on four occasions, Chambers on eleven occasions. As such, no-one will be remotely surprised if October’s bout goes the limit.
I have to give the younger, faster man from Philly an overall edge over the veteran from Washington D.C. Neither guy has been overly active as of late: with Thompson having boxed just once this year and Chambers having done the same. The southpaw stance of Thompson isn’t likely to trouble Chambers, seeing as how Eddie has so much experience; picked up in the gym and in the ring, but Thompson’s significant height and reach advantages may give him an upper hand (Thompson stands 6’5” and has a reach of 81”, Chambers is 6’1” and 75”). Then again, Chambers has seen off giants before: see his impressive win over Alexander Dimitrenko.
Thompson is adept at throwing good, downward chopping blows that can trouble a shorter man, and his southpaw jab is formidable. But Chambers is as slick as they come and I just can’t see a Thompson win, unless “The Tiger” manages to land something big, pretty much out of the blue. I see Chambers boxing and moving, picking up points with nice combinations and lots of jabs, and emerging as a fairly wide decision winner.
You can bet that both guys will still be friends after the fight, though!