By Chris Mannix, SI.com
At the time, it seemed like a good idea. Actually, it was a great one.
Get six of the top fighters in one weight class to commit to a series of fights that will consume nearly two years of their careers? If the nonsensical statements uttered during the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather negotiations taught us anything, it's that promoters have a hard time agreeing on a breakfast order, much less the parameters of a significant fight.
Showtime did it, though. Under the guidance of top exec Ken Hershman, the cable network got Mikkel Kessler, Andre Ward, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch, Andre Dirrell and Jermain Taylor to sign on the dotted lines. A true super middleweight champion will be crowned, the network crowed during a press conference in New York. For the first time in a long time, there will be one face of the 168-pound division.
Quickly, however, things have unraveled. First, Taylor was forced to withdraw, the end result of an Abraham right hand that knocked him out of the tournament and into retirement. With Lucian Bute unavailable and Kelly Pavlik unwanted, Showtime turned to Allan Green, an untested power puncher with no significant wins on his resume.
Kessler was next, withdrawing this week with an eye injury that will require nine months to heal. With the Super Six entering its final stage, it's most accomplished fighter (Kessler) and most recognizable American (Taylor) are on the sidelines.
This tournament needs a save, and a big one. Early word is that Green -- who was battered around in a unanimous decision by Ward in June and who was likely facing a night as human chum for Kessler next month in Denmark -- will be cut, with Showtime dangling a 175-pound fight for Green as a carrot to walk away without complaint.
With Green out, the Super Six suddenly becomes a Final Four. Abraham-Froch, scheduled for Oct. 2 in Monaco -- another utterly idiotic decision caused by Froch's lack of any confidence to win a decision in front of tens of thousands of fans in Germany while, Abraham wasn't interested in fighting in front of a few thousand Froch fans in Nottingham -- becomes a de facto semifinal, with Ward-Dirrell's fight serving as the other.
Of course, that's assuming Ward and Dirrell actually fight. Officially, the two are slated to tango on Sept. 25. But there has been no promotion. No tickets have been sold because there is no venue.
There isn't likely to be one anytime soon, either. Gary Shaw, who promotes Dirrell, is refusing to take his fighter to Oakland, Ward's backyard. He has a point. Ward has already fought at home twice during the Super Six while Dirrell's lone appearance in his home state of Michigan came in his disqualification win over Abraham in March.
Dan Goossen, Ward's promoter, wants nothing to do with a fight in the midwest. He has a point, too. Dirrell-Abraham drew only about 3,500 fans to Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, while Ward has averaged crowds of 9,500 in his wins over Kessler and Green.
With both sides bickering, it's Hershman who needs to step in. Oakland makes the most sense. The network is already being forced to swallow an Abraham-Froch fight that likely won't draw a fraction of the crowd it would in Germany. Ward has carefully cultivated a fan base in Northern California in recent years while Dirrell has largely ignored his home turf. A Ward-Dirrell fight at Oracle Arena would exceed 10,000 fans and could draw as many as 15,000. An energetic crowd is part of the appeal of a big fight, a fact Froch and Abraham will soon become keenly aware of.
Sweeteners can -- and should -- be added to make a trip to Oakland more appealing to Dirrell. And if he is still not comfortable with winning a decision on the road, well, he shouldn't have been in the tournament to begin with. Great fighters win the fights in front of them, regardless of where they are held.
The loss of Taylor and Kessler has put the Super Six in a precarious decision but not one beyond repair. With the clock ticking towards a planned spring final, it's those in positions of power who need to make the right decisions.
Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Showing posts with label Arthur Abraham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arthur Abraham. Show all posts
Friday, 27 August 2010
Friday, 25 June 2010
Al Bernstein: “ I think Pacquiao-Mayweather is going to be made” -- Eastside Boxing
By Geoffrey Ciani, Eastside Boxing
On Andre Ward’s performance in his group stage two victory against Allan Green:“Well he was outstanding and one of the things that made it even better was t hat he altered what he did against Mikkel Kessler in that brilliant performance. He decided that one of the things he could do against Allan Green was get in close and smother the big left hook of Green and land a lot of punches. He told us he was going to try and do that a little early in the fight but it worked so well for him that he kept it up during a lot of the fight. He’s a very smart fighter. He’s clever, he knows what he’s doing in the ring, he follows Virgil Hunter’s game plan perfectly, and he was too good and too disciplined for Allan Green.”
On whether he was surprised by how ineffective Allan Green was in his fight with Ward:
“Well yes and no. Yes, because this was the most important moment of his career and if ever he was going to show us what he had, and he kept telling everyone that would listen for weeks and weeks leading up to the fight that he was going to do it, and even as much as when we had the fighter meeting the day before so in that sense I’m surprised, but to be perfectly honest, Allan Green has been an underachiever so the burden of proof was on him to show that he’s not and he didn’t on that evening..”
On criticisms from fans who claim Ward’s performance was “boring”:
“What did he do that was boring? I’m amazed at that. I can’t even imagine how you could criticize that. He threw a lot of punches, he didn’t just pose, when he got in the inside he was working, throwing upper cuts, left hooks to the body, little short chopping right hands—what would anyone want Andre Ward to do that he didn’t do in that fight? He completely dominated it, he threw a lot of punches, the only thing he didn’t do was knock Allan Green out but beyond that he was just excellent. I didn’t find it boring. I mean, I found it boring because it was one-sided but I didn’t find Andre Ward’s performance boring.”
On who he considers to be the best super middleweight in the world right now:
“Obviously Bute is outside the tournament and so when we talk about him we’re not going to talk about in terms of this tournament. He’s clearly as good as the people in this tournament, there’s no question about that. Within the tournament, who’s going to win the tournament? That I don’t know. Even though Ward has the lead with four points, I could give you the rationale for several people still winning this tournament. For instance, I think Andre Dirrell has a very good chance to beat Andre Ward in the next fight. I really do, based on the way he fought against Abraham and based on the match-up of styles which is of course often what it boils down to. Andre Dirrell will probably need to win that fight in order to make it to the semi-finals. Arthur Abraham, I don’t think you could rule him out even though he gave a poor performance against Dirrell. You still have Froch, Kessler fought better against Froch then he had before. Lucian Bute would certainly be right in that mix. I don’t know that I could pick one that I would say right now I’m absolutely sure is the best, even with Ward’s two brilliant performances.”
On whether he believes Ward has the mental strength to continue forward and fulfill the potential he’s show in these first two rounds:
“Well he definitely has the mental strength. That’s the one part of Andre Ward that no human on the planet can question. He’s the most—I’m going to say the most, I’m not even going to qualify—he’s the most disciplined, organized, and focused fighter in the sport today, bar none. There isn’t anybody that touches him in those departments and no fighter, none in the sport of boxing right now, has a better or more organized corner. So all of that stuff he’s got going for him, that isn’t even in question. The only question with him, and the one that of course is with any fighter, is he going to see somebody whose style matches up much better than him (aka-maybe Andre Dirrell)? Is he going to face a big puncher who is going to land something that’s monstrous and be simply too much for him? He’s been down once in his career and he was hurt one other time, any fighter can be. Barring the answer to those questions, he reduces the chances that he’ll lose. He goes in there minimizing the chances of a loss as much as a fighter can and gives himself as good a chance to win as anyone and you can’t ask for too much more than that.”
On what he believes was the biggest surprise so far in the Super Six:
“Well, one of the first big surprised came when Kessler lost so dramatically to Ward. You know, certainly Ward could have won the fight but the way he lost was I thought kind of shocking, so that was a big surprise. The other surprise to me was how well Andre Dirrell did against Arthur Abraham. He did everything that you would want him to do in that fight. Of course, he won on a disqualification, but he performed so well during that fight so that kind of surprised me as well. The other surprising part I think is that other than Ward, nobody won two fights in a row so that’s pretty interesting.”
On who he thinks suffered the toughest break so far in the Super Six:
“Well, Kessler did a little bit in a way even though he fought poorly and was going to lose anyway, all those clashes of heads were difficult, so that added to his woes and he kind of got a tough break. I thought Andre Dirrell got a tough break, you could say, in not getting the decision against Froch in a close fight and then I would say Froch against Kessler—he could have easily been given that decision, very close fight. If fighters wanted to look at things that could have gone another way for them, those three certainly could look at it. I wouldn’t say Abraham got a tough break because I think he deserved to be disqualified.”
On which group stage three match-ups he believes are most intriguing and potentially most exciting:
“I think the most exciting could be Froch-Abraham because Froch is going to land a bunch of punches, try and get through that defense, will land something of note, and then I think Abraham when he comes out of that cocoon will land something of note and both men have really good chins. A close second, though, is Dirrell and Ward. I really think that’s going to be a great fight. They’re both boxers, but Ward’s not a runner and Dirrell can’t afford to be a runner in this fight because he needs this fight so badly so he’ll fight more like he did against Abraham, moving but still engaging and throwing punches, so I think that’s a really good fight. I would tell you that Green-Kessler is going to be good but I don’t know if Allan Green can summon up a good effort. Stylistically it’s a perfect fight for both fighters. They’re both in front of each other, they’re both power punchers, Kessler has the edge in hand speed and combination punching but if Allan Green comes to fight and is ready, it should be a really good fight between him and Kessler.”
On whether he believes having tournaments like the Super Six in other divisions would be good for boxing:
“I think the concept is good. One of the thing that makes this one good, and I think it’s a part of the equation, when we have single eliminations tournaments it’s good, it’s fun, but with single elimination tournaments you may have gotten the wrong style that day or whatever. When it’s not a single elimination like this it’s really interesting. These are not easily put together, though. Really, with all the promoters in boxing that have to get involved in this, all the different managers as evidenced by Shaw making that suggestion—which I also find interesting that he decided to go to HBO to suggest a tournament after he started one on Showtime, but that’s another story. It’s interesting. He was just suggesting what I think was a single elimination and he still couldn’t get four fighters involved so it shows how difficult it is. I know there’s been talk of a cruiserweight tournament, which by the way, is a division where—the places where these tournaments work the best, and a demonstration of that was how it didn’t work in the junior welterweight division. Those fighters have some cache already in terms of name recognition and notoriety and clout. Super middleweights didn’t have so much of that and they fight each other anyway. The cruiserweights are exactly the same. They clearly desperately need this kind of thing to get their names out there and they are already fighting each other on a regular basis so the cruiserweight division is probably the one where it would make the most sense.”
His views on the current health of the sport:
“Well for the most part boxing—and I think Pacquiao-Mayweather is going to be made, so in the grand scheme I think that will get there. Most of the big matches that people wanted to see were made in the last six or seven years, unlike the 90s, when boxing didn’t do it in the 1990s. That was an abyss for the sport. I think the sport has made a renaissance in the last five or six or seven years. It’s still something of a niche sport, at least in America, but then everything other than the NFL is a niche sport in America. Internationally boxing has really made great strides so I don’t see the sport in decline. I think it’s seeking its level and I think especially internationally, it’s in really healthy shape and in America the media is covering the sport a little bit more and that’s a plus.”
On how he views a potential fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr:
“Well I think it’s an interesting fight. I think we’re really going to find out in the first five rounds of that fight because Pacquiao is going to get hit with some kind of impressive right hand by Mayweather. He tends to get hit with a real quick fighter like Marquez who could hit him with the right hand. Mayweather is going to do that and Mayweather’s a good puncher, a sharp puncher, and might be physically a little bigger than Pacquiao or at least has been at higher weights more often. I think we’re going to know when Mayweather lands one of those right hands lands—did it hurt Pacquiao? Did it knock him down? Did it get him in trouble? Does it lead to more of an onslaught? If the answer is any of that, then obviously Pacquiao is in big trouble and he’s probably going to lose the fight. If, however, he gets hit with one of those right hands and he’s able to shake it off and continue with his onslaught of seventy or eighty or ninety punches a round and make Floyd Mayweather fight every second of every round, which he does not like to do, then I think this fight is going to get very interesting as we head into the second portion of it and I think that’s where Pacquiao certainly has a chance to win the fight.”
Source: eastsideboxing.com
This week’s edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with Showtime boxing commentator Al Bernstein. Following Andre Ward’s impressive victory over Allan Green in the final group stage two match-up of the Super Six Boxing Classic
, Bernstein shared his views on the tournament and other aspects of the current boxing landscape. Here is some of what Al had to say:
, Bernstein shared his views on the tournament and other aspects of the current boxing landscape. Here is some of what Al had to say:On Andre Ward’s performance in his group stage two victory against Allan Green:On whether he was surprised by how ineffective Allan Green was in his fight with Ward:
“Well yes and no. Yes, because this was the most important moment of his career and if ever he was going to show us what he had, and he kept telling everyone that would listen for weeks and weeks leading up to the fight that he was going to do it, and even as much as when we had the fighter meeting the day before so in that sense I’m surprised, but to be perfectly honest, Allan Green has been an underachiever so the burden of proof was on him to show that he’s not and he didn’t on that evening..”
On criticisms from fans who claim Ward’s performance was “boring”:
“What did he do that was boring? I’m amazed at that. I can’t even imagine how you could criticize that. He threw a lot of punches, he didn’t just pose, when he got in the inside he was working, throwing upper cuts, left hooks to the body, little short chopping right hands—what would anyone want Andre Ward to do that he didn’t do in that fight? He completely dominated it, he threw a lot of punches, the only thing he didn’t do was knock Allan Green out but beyond that he was just excellent. I didn’t find it boring. I mean, I found it boring because it was one-sided but I didn’t find Andre Ward’s performance boring.”
On who he considers to be the best super middleweight in the world right now:
“Obviously Bute is outside the tournament and so when we talk about him we’re not going to talk about in terms of this tournament. He’s clearly as good as the people in this tournament, there’s no question about that. Within the tournament, who’s going to win the tournament? That I don’t know. Even though Ward has the lead with four points, I could give you the rationale for several people still winning this tournament. For instance, I think Andre Dirrell has a very good chance to beat Andre Ward in the next fight. I really do, based on the way he fought against Abraham and based on the match-up of styles which is of course often what it boils down to. Andre Dirrell will probably need to win that fight in order to make it to the semi-finals. Arthur Abraham, I don’t think you could rule him out even though he gave a poor performance against Dirrell. You still have Froch, Kessler fought better against Froch then he had before. Lucian Bute would certainly be right in that mix. I don’t know that I could pick one that I would say right now I’m absolutely sure is the best, even with Ward’s two brilliant performances.”
On whether he believes Ward has the mental strength to continue forward and fulfill the potential he’s show in these first two rounds:
“Well he definitely has the mental strength. That’s the one part of Andre Ward that no human on the planet can question. He’s the most—I’m going to say the most, I’m not even going to qualify—he’s the most disciplined, organized, and focused fighter in the sport today, bar none. There isn’t anybody that touches him in those departments and no fighter, none in the sport of boxing right now, has a better or more organized corner. So all of that stuff he’s got going for him, that isn’t even in question. The only question with him, and the one that of course is with any fighter, is he going to see somebody whose style matches up much better than him (aka-maybe Andre Dirrell)? Is he going to face a big puncher who is going to land something that’s monstrous and be simply too much for him? He’s been down once in his career and he was hurt one other time, any fighter can be. Barring the answer to those questions, he reduces the chances that he’ll lose. He goes in there minimizing the chances of a loss as much as a fighter can and gives himself as good a chance to win as anyone and you can’t ask for too much more than that.”
On what he believes was the biggest surprise so far in the Super Six:
“Well, one of the first big surprised came when Kessler lost so dramatically to Ward. You know, certainly Ward could have won the fight but the way he lost was I thought kind of shocking, so that was a big surprise. The other surprise to me was how well Andre Dirrell did against Arthur Abraham. He did everything that you would want him to do in that fight. Of course, he won on a disqualification, but he performed so well during that fight so that kind of surprised me as well. The other surprising part I think is that other than Ward, nobody won two fights in a row so that’s pretty interesting.”
On who he thinks suffered the toughest break so far in the Super Six:
“Well, Kessler did a little bit in a way even though he fought poorly and was going to lose anyway, all those clashes of heads were difficult, so that added to his woes and he kind of got a tough break. I thought Andre Dirrell got a tough break, you could say, in not getting the decision against Froch in a close fight and then I would say Froch against Kessler—he could have easily been given that decision, very close fight. If fighters wanted to look at things that could have gone another way for them, those three certainly could look at it. I wouldn’t say Abraham got a tough break because I think he deserved to be disqualified.”
On which group stage three match-ups he believes are most intriguing and potentially most exciting:
“I think the most exciting could be Froch-Abraham because Froch is going to land a bunch of punches, try and get through that defense, will land something of note, and then I think Abraham when he comes out of that cocoon will land something of note and both men have really good chins. A close second, though, is Dirrell and Ward. I really think that’s going to be a great fight. They’re both boxers, but Ward’s not a runner and Dirrell can’t afford to be a runner in this fight because he needs this fight so badly so he’ll fight more like he did against Abraham, moving but still engaging and throwing punches, so I think that’s a really good fight. I would tell you that Green-Kessler is going to be good but I don’t know if Allan Green can summon up a good effort. Stylistically it’s a perfect fight for both fighters. They’re both in front of each other, they’re both power punchers, Kessler has the edge in hand speed and combination punching but if Allan Green comes to fight and is ready, it should be a really good fight between him and Kessler.”
On whether he believes having tournaments like the Super Six in other divisions would be good for boxing:
“I think the concept is good. One of the thing that makes this one good, and I think it’s a part of the equation, when we have single eliminations tournaments it’s good, it’s fun, but with single elimination tournaments you may have gotten the wrong style that day or whatever. When it’s not a single elimination like this it’s really interesting. These are not easily put together, though. Really, with all the promoters in boxing that have to get involved in this, all the different managers as evidenced by Shaw making that suggestion—which I also find interesting that he decided to go to HBO to suggest a tournament after he started one on Showtime, but that’s another story. It’s interesting. He was just suggesting what I think was a single elimination and he still couldn’t get four fighters involved so it shows how difficult it is. I know there’s been talk of a cruiserweight tournament, which by the way, is a division where—the places where these tournaments work the best, and a demonstration of that was how it didn’t work in the junior welterweight division. Those fighters have some cache already in terms of name recognition and notoriety and clout. Super middleweights didn’t have so much of that and they fight each other anyway. The cruiserweights are exactly the same. They clearly desperately need this kind of thing to get their names out there and they are already fighting each other on a regular basis so the cruiserweight division is probably the one where it would make the most sense.”
His views on the current health of the sport:
“Well for the most part boxing—and I think Pacquiao-Mayweather is going to be made, so in the grand scheme I think that will get there. Most of the big matches that people wanted to see were made in the last six or seven years, unlike the 90s, when boxing didn’t do it in the 1990s. That was an abyss for the sport. I think the sport has made a renaissance in the last five or six or seven years. It’s still something of a niche sport, at least in America, but then everything other than the NFL is a niche sport in America. Internationally boxing has really made great strides so I don’t see the sport in decline. I think it’s seeking its level and I think especially internationally, it’s in really healthy shape and in America the media is covering the sport a little bit more and that’s a plus.”
On how he views a potential fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr:
“Well I think it’s an interesting fight. I think we’re really going to find out in the first five rounds of that fight because Pacquiao is going to get hit with some kind of impressive right hand by Mayweather. He tends to get hit with a real quick fighter like Marquez who could hit him with the right hand. Mayweather is going to do that and Mayweather’s a good puncher, a sharp puncher, and might be physically a little bigger than Pacquiao or at least has been at higher weights more often. I think we’re going to know when Mayweather lands one of those right hands lands—did it hurt Pacquiao? Did it knock him down? Did it get him in trouble? Does it lead to more of an onslaught? If the answer is any of that, then obviously Pacquiao is in big trouble and he’s probably going to lose the fight. If, however, he gets hit with one of those right hands and he’s able to shake it off and continue with his onslaught of seventy or eighty or ninety punches a round and make Floyd Mayweather fight every second of every round, which he does not like to do, then I think this fight is going to get very interesting as we head into the second portion of it and I think that’s where Pacquiao certainly has a chance to win the fight.”
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
A match for Manny Pacquiao? I'm even better than Muhammad Ali, boasts Floyd Mayweather -- Daily Mail
By JEFF POWELL, DailyMail.co.ukFloyd Mayweather Jnr is not only the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today - better even than Manny Pacquiao - but he is the greatest boxer ever, greater even than Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson.
Who says so?
Why, Floyd Mayweather Jnr himself. That's who.
Money, not Modesty, is Mayweather's ring moniker and there is no sign of faux humility when he evaluates his own place in the spectrum of all-time pugilists.'Ali was a great fighter,' he acknowledges, 'but I'm better. Robinson was a great fighter, but I'm better.'
So much for the two legends who monopolise most of the discussions when connoisseurs of the hardest game wrangle over who is the all-time lord of the ring.
As for Pacquiao, who has supplanted Mayweather in most assessments of the mythical pound-for-pound champion of the moment, apparently he cannot even be certain of a future place in boxing's Hall of Fame.
Nor, for that matter, can the man he faces in Las Vegas this coming Saturday night.
Sugar Shane Mosley - the interim opponent prior to Mayweather-Pacquiao, if that blockbuster ever happens - is damned thus with faint praise: 'He's a solid middleweight.'
So dismissive is Mayweather of Mosley's standing as reigning WBA world welterweight champion that he is not bothering to compete for that belt when they enter the ring at the MGM Grand Garden arena.
Money is his nickname and he is refusing to part with that small portion of his fortune which he would have had to pay the World Boxing Association to sanction this as a title fight.
'Why should I bother with a belt?' he asks. 'Just beating Mosley will be enough to enhance my legacy.'
Actually, it would have done more for his reputation had these two fought a few years ago, when the now 38-year-old Mosley was in his prime.
Although not enough to dissuade most of us from the opinion that Mr Ali is The Greatest, and probably always will be.
That belief is unruffled by Mayweather's dismissive suggestion that Ali and Robinson are only defied because they took part in 'hundreds of fights'.
He is right to assert that the advent of pay-per-view television - with the networks needing months to sell each product to their subscribers - has played its part in reducing the number of bouts demanded of the modern-day boxer.
But while that is not his fault - and even though he regrets that the regulations now prevent him proving himself a throwback to the 15-round warriors of yore - does his 40-fight unbeaten record really stand comparison with the near-100 contests won by Julio Cesar Chavez before his first loss?
One hallmark of a great champion is his ability to come back from defeat but with Mayweather boxing so infrequently - and tending to select older (Mosley) or smaller (Marquez) opponents when he does so, we may never get the chance to judge him in that context.
Not unless he meets Pacquiao - yes, smaller, but equipped with the power to unhinge larger men - and that fight still seems as remote as it did the moment Mayweather threw a sudden demand for blood-testing into the negotiations.
So greater than Ali? Dream on.
Froch threatens to quit Super Six as promoter denies Abraham agreement
The agony for Carl Froch deepened on Monday when German promoter Wilfried Sauerland categorically denied shaking hands on a deal for the Nottingham Cobra's decisive super-middleweight clash with Arthur Abraham to take place in England.
The Super Six series to unify the world championship - the WBC version of which Froch lost to Mikkel Kessler in Saturday's epic battle in Denmark - provides for a mix of home and away matches in the three fights required of each contestant in the group stage.
Froch, having won at home to Andre Dirrell and lost away to Kessler, has been counting on home advantage against Abraham. Now Sauerland, who promotes both Kessler and Abraham, is pressing for either a neutral venue or Berlin for Abraham, a Germany-domiciled Armenian.
Mick Hennessy, Froch's promoter, claims they had a gentleman's agreement for the fight to take place in Nottingham, saying: 'There were witnesses.'
Sauerland says: 'There is nothing in the contract to that effect, nor was there any verbal deal or handshake. The only stipulation is that it happens in Europe, with the best financial situation taking preference.
'Arthur has already had to travel all the way to California to fight Andre Ward, while Froch had a private jet for his short trip to Denmark. A reasonable compromise would be a neutral venue, otherwise we should go for the most rewarding venue.'
Froch has threatened to pull out of the Super Six if he is forced to travel again, although he is unlikely to withdraw as he is on at least a million pounds per fight in the series.
Both he and Abraham need a win to be certain of qualifying for the even more lucrative semi-finals. Froch, having lost his unbeaten record as well as his WBC belt to Kessler by a unanimous points decision, is wary of being on the wrong end of a home-town verdict against Abraham, who is hugely popular in his adoptive Germany.
The negotiations, which will include America's Showtime television network who are bankrolling the tournament, now threaten to be as aggressive as the fight.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Monday, 26 April 2010
A great round, but Froch was subpar -- 15Rounds
By Bart Barry, 15Rounds.com
“Don’t be afraid of the player with a good grip and a bad swing. Don’t be afraid of a player with a bad grip and a good swing. The player to beware of is the one with the bad grip and the bad swing. If he’s reached your level, he has grooved his faults and knows how to score.” – Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book
That comes from a short but sage hardback of golf instruction. Harvey Penick was a Texas club pro who taught hall of famers Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite and Betsy Rawls how to play. There are more than a few parallels between golf and boxing, and Penick’s warning is one that pertains well to Carl Froch. Beware the world champion who delivers punches awkwardly as he stands; if he’s got to this level, he’s somehow better than he looks.
Saturday, though, Froch wasn’t quite good enough.
In an outstanding fight broadcast from Denmark as part of Showtime’s “Super Six” tournament, and in defiance of an Icelandic volcano, Mikkel Kessler took Carl Froch’s WBC super middleweight title by unanimous decision. The official result was fair if imbalanced. Judge Guido Cavalleri’s 115-113 card was right. The others – 116-112 and 117-111 – were progressively less so.
My card did not concur with the official result. I had it 116-114 for Froch, to whom I awarded rounds 1, 4, 5, 9, 10 and 11. I gave Kessler rounds 2, 6, 7 and 8. I had rounds 3 and 12 even. But if you gave the rounds that were close enough to be even to Kessler, my card was a draw. If you gave Kessler the first round, too, my card was the same as Cavalleri’s. I’ll not file any protests.
Nor will Carl Froch. That’s both troubling and reassuring. The former WBC champ was yielding in his post-fight interview, conceding that he’d not “put it on (Kessler) more,” that he’d “sat back a little bit,” and that he might have been tardy in “biting down on (his) gumshield.” It did not escape Froch that, after the fifth round, it was his fight if he wanted it badly enough.
Froch’s post-fight demeanor also reassured, though, because of the dignity he showed in defeat. It was not a challenge to Froch’s class to fear what might be uttered by an expressively proud man who’d just lost his title in a close fight on foreign soil. Or, for the Yanks in attendance: Does anyone think Floyd Mayweather will react so temperately if his first loss happens that way Saturday night?
Froch was not stunned by losing to Mikkel Kessler. It seems Kessler was the man Froch had circled in his mind as one who might be worthy of vanquishing him. Froch may have seen that Kessler was “quite conclusively outboxed” by Andre Ward, but he didn’t absorb it. He didn’t infer the possibility Kessler was not the same man he’d been a couple years ago.
Because Kessler is not that guy any more. He is no longer the agent of a classic 1-2 that battered Librado Andrade in 2007. As noticed immediately by Antonio Tarver – a fantastic new commentator, by the way – Kessler no longer blasts you with his 2, a straight right cross. Now it’s alternately looped and pushed. Among Kessler’s best punches Saturday was a right hand in round 7 that landed to the back of Froch’s head. Froch is awkward, yes, but a prime Kessler never floated his right elbow enough to hit someone there.
Unsurprisingly, Kessler’s power has gone with his form. His most effective punches Saturday were the ones Froch ran into. Kessler won on determination and hustle. He outworked Froch. He did not outhit him. Kessler used Froch’s momentum to supply his power, the sort of power Kessler once had from a standing start.
There are no standing starts for Froch. So here comes another golf analogy. Carl Froch throws right crosses the way Gary Player used to hit fairway woods. He crosses over. Froch commits all of his weight, all of his person, to the right hand. He starts in an orthodox stance and finishes as a southpaw. If he doesn’t hit you with the right cross, he fires a left hand while correcting his stance, then tries the cross-over right again. It’s combination punching in its most awkward sense and hardly what you’d teach a beginner.
How the hell does it work, then? Partially because it’s planned, partially because Froch believes in it, and partially because combination punching – however it’s accomplished – is never a bad thing. Froch’s stellar run as an amateur makes him the embodiment of Penick’s warning: He has a bad grip and a bad swing, but he’s grooved it. He knows how to score.
He also knows a way to keep you from scoring. How does he barge into a puncher like Kessler’s wheelhouse, arms dangling at his sides, and keep from getting beheaded? The secret is in the dangling. After he tags you with his cross-over right, Froch’s entire body goes limp. Anything but a direct hit, like Kessler’s in round 8, gets harmlessly absorbed by Froch’s body. It’s like punching a sponge.
Still, a little more overall tension from Froch after round 5 likely would have won him the fight. He knocked Kessler backwards with a right hand in the final minute of the fifth. Then he held his glove up and showed it to the Danes, without deigning to press his advantage. He should know better next time.
What happened Saturday made a great tournament better. Kessler-Froch was the best fight of the “Super Six” thus far. And round 12 was the best three minutes in prizefighting’s first third of 2010. What’s next? Kessler may get stretched by Allan Green, the quirky Oklahoma slugger, or he might not. And Froch against Arthur Abraham? No earthly idea.
But know this: “Super Six” will continue to surprise and satisfy.
Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry
Source: 15rounds.com
“Don’t be afraid of the player with a good grip and a bad swing. Don’t be afraid of a player with a bad grip and a good swing. The player to beware of is the one with the bad grip and the bad swing. If he’s reached your level, he has grooved his faults and knows how to score.” – Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book
That comes from a short but sage hardback of golf instruction. Harvey Penick was a Texas club pro who taught hall of famers Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite and Betsy Rawls how to play. There are more than a few parallels between golf and boxing, and Penick’s warning is one that pertains well to Carl Froch. Beware the world champion who delivers punches awkwardly as he stands; if he’s got to this level, he’s somehow better than he looks.
Saturday, though, Froch wasn’t quite good enough.
In an outstanding fight broadcast from Denmark as part of Showtime’s “Super Six” tournament, and in defiance of an Icelandic volcano, Mikkel Kessler took Carl Froch’s WBC super middleweight title by unanimous decision. The official result was fair if imbalanced. Judge Guido Cavalleri’s 115-113 card was right. The others – 116-112 and 117-111 – were progressively less so.
My card did not concur with the official result. I had it 116-114 for Froch, to whom I awarded rounds 1, 4, 5, 9, 10 and 11. I gave Kessler rounds 2, 6, 7 and 8. I had rounds 3 and 12 even. But if you gave the rounds that were close enough to be even to Kessler, my card was a draw. If you gave Kessler the first round, too, my card was the same as Cavalleri’s. I’ll not file any protests.
Nor will Carl Froch. That’s both troubling and reassuring. The former WBC champ was yielding in his post-fight interview, conceding that he’d not “put it on (Kessler) more,” that he’d “sat back a little bit,” and that he might have been tardy in “biting down on (his) gumshield.” It did not escape Froch that, after the fifth round, it was his fight if he wanted it badly enough.
Froch’s post-fight demeanor also reassured, though, because of the dignity he showed in defeat. It was not a challenge to Froch’s class to fear what might be uttered by an expressively proud man who’d just lost his title in a close fight on foreign soil. Or, for the Yanks in attendance: Does anyone think Floyd Mayweather will react so temperately if his first loss happens that way Saturday night?
Froch was not stunned by losing to Mikkel Kessler. It seems Kessler was the man Froch had circled in his mind as one who might be worthy of vanquishing him. Froch may have seen that Kessler was “quite conclusively outboxed” by Andre Ward, but he didn’t absorb it. He didn’t infer the possibility Kessler was not the same man he’d been a couple years ago.
Because Kessler is not that guy any more. He is no longer the agent of a classic 1-2 that battered Librado Andrade in 2007. As noticed immediately by Antonio Tarver – a fantastic new commentator, by the way – Kessler no longer blasts you with his 2, a straight right cross. Now it’s alternately looped and pushed. Among Kessler’s best punches Saturday was a right hand in round 7 that landed to the back of Froch’s head. Froch is awkward, yes, but a prime Kessler never floated his right elbow enough to hit someone there.
Unsurprisingly, Kessler’s power has gone with his form. His most effective punches Saturday were the ones Froch ran into. Kessler won on determination and hustle. He outworked Froch. He did not outhit him. Kessler used Froch’s momentum to supply his power, the sort of power Kessler once had from a standing start.
There are no standing starts for Froch. So here comes another golf analogy. Carl Froch throws right crosses the way Gary Player used to hit fairway woods. He crosses over. Froch commits all of his weight, all of his person, to the right hand. He starts in an orthodox stance and finishes as a southpaw. If he doesn’t hit you with the right cross, he fires a left hand while correcting his stance, then tries the cross-over right again. It’s combination punching in its most awkward sense and hardly what you’d teach a beginner.
How the hell does it work, then? Partially because it’s planned, partially because Froch believes in it, and partially because combination punching – however it’s accomplished – is never a bad thing. Froch’s stellar run as an amateur makes him the embodiment of Penick’s warning: He has a bad grip and a bad swing, but he’s grooved it. He knows how to score.
He also knows a way to keep you from scoring. How does he barge into a puncher like Kessler’s wheelhouse, arms dangling at his sides, and keep from getting beheaded? The secret is in the dangling. After he tags you with his cross-over right, Froch’s entire body goes limp. Anything but a direct hit, like Kessler’s in round 8, gets harmlessly absorbed by Froch’s body. It’s like punching a sponge.
Still, a little more overall tension from Froch after round 5 likely would have won him the fight. He knocked Kessler backwards with a right hand in the final minute of the fifth. Then he held his glove up and showed it to the Danes, without deigning to press his advantage. He should know better next time.
What happened Saturday made a great tournament better. Kessler-Froch was the best fight of the “Super Six” thus far. And round 12 was the best three minutes in prizefighting’s first third of 2010. What’s next? Kessler may get stretched by Allan Green, the quirky Oklahoma slugger, or he might not. And Froch against Arthur Abraham? No earthly idea.
But know this: “Super Six” will continue to surprise and satisfy.
Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry
Source: 15rounds.com
Angry Carl Froch in quit threat -- Daily Star
By Kevin Francis, DailyStar.co.uk
CARL FROCH
has threatened to hit his promoters for six if his next fight is not on home soil.
Froch lost to Mikkel Kessler in the latest bout of the Super Six Classic series, which is designed to determine the undisputed world super-middleweight champion.
But his defeat in Herning, near Copenhagen in Denmark, left him calling the judges’ decision a “disgrace”.
And now he says he will withdraw from the six-man tournament altogether if his planned August 21 clash with Arthur Abraham is moved away from his home city of Nottingham.
Tournament promoters Sauerland Events have angered ‘The Cobra’ by suggesting that the bout against Berlin-based Abraham may be shifted to Germany.
But Froch has told German promoters Sauerland: “If I am not fighting in Nottingham then I will quit the tournament – there is no doubt about that. We had an agreement that the next fight would be there and now they are suddenly trying to move the goalposts.”
Froch’s promoter Mick Hennessy confirmed that his fighter was serious about his intentions to throw in the towel.
He said: “Carl is a very strong individual and can be stubborn.
“If he says he doesn’t want to fight he won’t – it is as simple as that.
“We went into the Kessler fight with an agreement that, as Carl was the WBC world champion, he would have two of his three fights in the UK.”
But an insider at Sauerland Events told me: “They have misunderstood. The only agreement was that the next fight would take place in Europe. The situation is this – the fight will go to where the money is.
“Carl may think he is calling the shots but he isn’t.”
The 32-year-old’s bargaining power has certainly diminished after he suffered a points defeat in Kessler’s backyard.
I must say that I had Froch losing the contest by two rounds.
But it was one of those tight fights that could have gone either way.
One judge, however, was way off the mark, awarding it to Kessler by a staggering SIX rounds – sheer incompetence.
Froch said: “I thought it was a disgrace. I have received loads of texts from friends saying they thought I had won.
“Kessler fought well but I genuinely thought I had done enough to get the decision against a brave fighter.
“This does open up the whole Super Six series but, if I remain in it, I am convinced that I can end up coming out on top.”
One certain fact to emerge from the fight is that Froch was way below his normal high standard as he suffered his first defeat of a 27-fight career.
Trainer Rob McCracken said: “He did well but it just wasn’t good enough on the night against a fighter who had nothing to lose.
“But for one judge to give it to Kessler by six rounds was absolutely stupid.”
Source: dailystar.co.uk
CARL FROCH
has threatened to hit his promoters for six if his next fight is not on home soil.Froch lost to Mikkel Kessler in the latest bout of the Super Six Classic series, which is designed to determine the undisputed world super-middleweight champion.
And now he says he will withdraw from the six-man tournament altogether if his planned August 21 clash with Arthur Abraham is moved away from his home city of Nottingham.
Tournament promoters Sauerland Events have angered ‘The Cobra’ by suggesting that the bout against Berlin-based Abraham may be shifted to Germany.
But Froch has told German promoters Sauerland: “If I am not fighting in Nottingham then I will quit the tournament – there is no doubt about that. We had an agreement that the next fight would be there and now they are suddenly trying to move the goalposts.”
Froch’s promoter Mick Hennessy confirmed that his fighter was serious about his intentions to throw in the towel.
He said: “Carl is a very strong individual and can be stubborn.
“If he says he doesn’t want to fight he won’t – it is as simple as that.
“We went into the Kessler fight with an agreement that, as Carl was the WBC world champion, he would have two of his three fights in the UK.”
But an insider at Sauerland Events told me: “They have misunderstood. The only agreement was that the next fight would take place in Europe. The situation is this – the fight will go to where the money is.
“Carl may think he is calling the shots but he isn’t.”
The 32-year-old’s bargaining power has certainly diminished after he suffered a points defeat in Kessler’s backyard.
I must say that I had Froch losing the contest by two rounds.
But it was one of those tight fights that could have gone either way.
One judge, however, was way off the mark, awarding it to Kessler by a staggering SIX rounds – sheer incompetence.
Froch said: “I thought it was a disgrace. I have received loads of texts from friends saying they thought I had won.
“Kessler fought well but I genuinely thought I had done enough to get the decision against a brave fighter.
“This does open up the whole Super Six series but, if I remain in it, I am convinced that I can end up coming out on top.”
One certain fact to emerge from the fight is that Froch was way below his normal high standard as he suffered his first defeat of a 27-fight career.
Trainer Rob McCracken said: “He did well but it just wasn’t good enough on the night against a fighter who had nothing to lose.
“But for one judge to give it to Kessler by six rounds was absolutely stupid.”
Source: dailystar.co.uk
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Carl Froch Vows To Bounce Back, But Can He Beat The Mighty Arthur Abraham? -- Eastside Boxing
By James Slater, Eastside Boxing
One of the great things about the "Super-Six" tournament, is the way a fighter, even if he loses a bout, is not out of the tournament. Twice now, two favourites to win the Boxing Classic have lost and been criticised for doing so, only to bounce back in their very next "Super-Six" outing. Last night's winner over Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, lost to Andre Ward, yet now he is back amongst the picks to win the tournament. And Andre Dirrell, who dropped a close decision to Froch in a disappointing affair, came back to hand Arthur Abraham his first pro loss.
Former WBC 168-pound champ Froch, who lost in a war with Kessler last night, now has the chance to come roaring back in his own dramatic way when he boxes his third fight in the tourney. And, like a true champion, "The Cobra" has vowed to do just that.
"I'll be back. I'll definitely be back," Froch said. "I'm still in the tournament and will still get the chance to win the [WBC] belt back. I've got to beat Arthur Abraham in my next fight to get to the semi-finals of the tournament.."
And though Froch, now 26-1(20) will almost certainly be an underdog in the eyes of many when he enters the ring against the tough and very dangerous Armenian, no-one can write off the 32-year-old and his chances of doing what Kessler and Dirrell did. But in facing "King" Arthur, will Froch be facing the one man in the whole "Super-Six" tournament who has the best chance of KO'ing him?
The Kessler fight was always going to be a tough one for Froch (indeed, for both fighters), but the Abraham fight, due to the style of the former middleweight champ, looks to be even tougher. Quite simply, though Froch's own punching power and sheer hardness - both mentally and physically - will give him a shot at beating Abraham, I fear for Froch if he holds his hands as low as he did last night. Again and again, Kessler got home with right hands to the head (not with impunity, it must be said), and though Froch took them there is no guarantee he will be able to do so against Abraham.
As former "Super-Six" participant Jermain Taylor can attest, Abraham's right hand to the head is brutal; not only that, but he needs to land just one to get the job done. Chances are, unless he somehow tightens up his less than airtight defence, Froch will get hit by Abraham's best punch. Thus far, Froch's amazing chin has held him in good stead, but how many of Abraham's bombs will he be hit with and how many of them will his beard stand up to?
The possible advantage the fight being held in his hometown of Nottingham may bring him aside (and there is still a chance Froch-Abraham could take place in Germany), Froch appears to have one hell of an uphill battle awaiting him. Sure, this could both inspire and bring out the best in Froch, but another thing that springs to mind is how soon the fight will take place. Set for August 21st, the Abraham fight will come a mere four months after the brutal and draining battle Froch had last night - a fight that is sure to have taken something from him (Kessler too for that matter).
We've already seen two quite amazing comebacks take place during the six months that "Super-Six" has been going, yet if Froch CAN bounce back and defeat Abraham we will be witness to an even greater one.
Interestingly, on the issue of the venue for Froch-Abraham, Froch has made it clear he will not face Abraham anywhere other than his home country.
According to a news article on The Sporting Life, Froch said the following:
"I'm adamant that the next fight, with Arthur Abraham, will be taking place in Britain. I won't be fighting in Germany, it's as simple as that. It would mean me pulling out of the tournament if they forced me to fight in Berlin.
"I want to get that straight from the start: it has already been agreed that I will fight back at home. It has been agreed with Ken Hersham (of Showtime)."
We will have to see what happens, because promoter for Abraham, Wilfred Sauerland, very much wants the fight to take place in Germany and says any agreement Froch had was merely for the bout to take place in Europe.
It sure would be a shame if Froch were pushed into making good his threat of pulling out of the tournament.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
One of the great things about the "Super-Six" tournament, is the way a fighter, even if he loses a bout, is not out of the tournament. Twice now, two favourites to win the Boxing Classic have lost and been criticised for doing so, only to bounce back in their very next "Super-Six" outing. Last night's winner over Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, lost to Andre Ward, yet now he is back amongst the picks to win the tournament. And Andre Dirrell, who dropped a close decision to Froch in a disappointing affair, came back to hand Arthur Abraham his first pro loss.
Former WBC 168-pound champ Froch, who lost in a war with Kessler last night, now has the chance to come roaring back in his own dramatic way when he boxes his third fight in the tourney. And, like a true champion, "The Cobra" has vowed to do just that.
"I'll be back. I'll definitely be back," Froch said. "I'm still in the tournament and will still get the chance to win the [WBC] belt back. I've got to beat Arthur Abraham in my next fight to get to the semi-finals of the tournament.."
And though Froch, now 26-1(20) will almost certainly be an underdog in the eyes of many when he enters the ring against the tough and very dangerous Armenian, no-one can write off the 32-year-old and his chances of doing what Kessler and Dirrell did. But in facing "King" Arthur, will Froch be facing the one man in the whole "Super-Six" tournament who has the best chance of KO'ing him?
The Kessler fight was always going to be a tough one for Froch (indeed, for both fighters), but the Abraham fight, due to the style of the former middleweight champ, looks to be even tougher. Quite simply, though Froch's own punching power and sheer hardness - both mentally and physically - will give him a shot at beating Abraham, I fear for Froch if he holds his hands as low as he did last night. Again and again, Kessler got home with right hands to the head (not with impunity, it must be said), and though Froch took them there is no guarantee he will be able to do so against Abraham.
As former "Super-Six" participant Jermain Taylor can attest, Abraham's right hand to the head is brutal; not only that, but he needs to land just one to get the job done. Chances are, unless he somehow tightens up his less than airtight defence, Froch will get hit by Abraham's best punch. Thus far, Froch's amazing chin has held him in good stead, but how many of Abraham's bombs will he be hit with and how many of them will his beard stand up to?
The possible advantage the fight being held in his hometown of Nottingham may bring him aside (and there is still a chance Froch-Abraham could take place in Germany), Froch appears to have one hell of an uphill battle awaiting him. Sure, this could both inspire and bring out the best in Froch, but another thing that springs to mind is how soon the fight will take place. Set for August 21st, the Abraham fight will come a mere four months after the brutal and draining battle Froch had last night - a fight that is sure to have taken something from him (Kessler too for that matter).
We've already seen two quite amazing comebacks take place during the six months that "Super-Six" has been going, yet if Froch CAN bounce back and defeat Abraham we will be witness to an even greater one.
Interestingly, on the issue of the venue for Froch-Abraham, Froch has made it clear he will not face Abraham anywhere other than his home country.
According to a news article on The Sporting Life, Froch said the following:
"I'm adamant that the next fight, with Arthur Abraham, will be taking place in Britain. I won't be fighting in Germany, it's as simple as that. It would mean me pulling out of the tournament if they forced me to fight in Berlin.
"I want to get that straight from the start: it has already been agreed that I will fight back at home. It has been agreed with Ken Hersham (of Showtime)."
We will have to see what happens, because promoter for Abraham, Wilfred Sauerland, very much wants the fight to take place in Germany and says any agreement Froch had was merely for the bout to take place in Europe.
It sure would be a shame if Froch were pushed into making good his threat of pulling out of the tournament.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Mikkel Kessler Dethrones Carl Froch By Unanimous Decision -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Denmark's Mikkel Kessler dethroned WBC super middleweight (168 pounds) champion, Carl Froch (above, at right), of England, by unanimous decision on Saturday in a bloody, all-out battle as part of Group stage No. 2 of Showtime's Super Six Super Middleweight World Boxing Classic before Kessler's partisan fans at Denmark's MCH Arena in Herning, Denmark.
Kessler was awarded the victory, 117-111, 116-112, and, 115-113, on the cards of the three, ringside judges, Roger Tilleman, Daniel Van de Wiele, and, Guido Cavalleri, respectively.
In victory, the 31-year-old Kessler rose to 43-2, with 32 knockouts, and improved his overall record in Denmark to 40-0, with 30 knockouts in a bout that will be shown on a tape-delayed basis on Showtime on Saturday night at 9 p.m.
Kessler rebounded after being dethroned as WBA champion after November's lopsided, technical decision loss to 26-year-old Andre Ward (21-0, 13 KOs), of Oakland, Calif.
The 32-year-old Froch slipped to 26-1, with 20 knockouts in a fight that Per Ake Persson, who was at ringside for BoxingScene.com, called "A fight-of-the-year war."
According to a ringside report by Ben Dirs of BBC Sport, Kessler was bleeding from a badly cut left eye, and Froch, from the nose, at fight's end.
Kessler was down in the fifth round, but referee, Michael Griffin, ruled that the man who is nicknamed, "The Viking Warrior," had slipped.
After a fairly evenly contested fight over the first six rounds, Kessler's jab became more prevalent starting in the seventh.
Kessler briefly pinned Froch on the ropes in the eighth round, and caused bleeding from the Englishman's nose in the ninth, even as Froch opened and targeted a cavernous cut on the Danish fighter's left eye near the end of that same round.
Froch was coming off of October's split-decision victory over 26-year-old southpaw, Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOs), of Flint, Mich., who rebounded with last month's lopsided, 11th-round disqualification victory over Germany's 30-year-old Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KOs).
Dirrell, Abraham and Ward are all picking Kessler to rebound in victory, while only 30-year-old Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs), of Tulsa, Ok., is picking Froch.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Denmark's Mikkel Kessler dethroned WBC super middleweight (168 pounds) champion, Carl Froch (above, at right), of England, by unanimous decision on Saturday in a bloody, all-out battle as part of Group stage No. 2 of Showtime's Super Six Super Middleweight World Boxing Classic before Kessler's partisan fans at Denmark's MCH Arena in Herning, Denmark.
Kessler was awarded the victory, 117-111, 116-112, and, 115-113, on the cards of the three, ringside judges, Roger Tilleman, Daniel Van de Wiele, and, Guido Cavalleri, respectively.
In victory, the 31-year-old Kessler rose to 43-2, with 32 knockouts, and improved his overall record in Denmark to 40-0, with 30 knockouts in a bout that will be shown on a tape-delayed basis on Showtime on Saturday night at 9 p.m.
Kessler rebounded after being dethroned as WBA champion after November's lopsided, technical decision loss to 26-year-old Andre Ward (21-0, 13 KOs), of Oakland, Calif.
The 32-year-old Froch slipped to 26-1, with 20 knockouts in a fight that Per Ake Persson, who was at ringside for BoxingScene.com, called "A fight-of-the-year war."
According to a ringside report by Ben Dirs of BBC Sport, Kessler was bleeding from a badly cut left eye, and Froch, from the nose, at fight's end.
Kessler was down in the fifth round, but referee, Michael Griffin, ruled that the man who is nicknamed, "The Viking Warrior," had slipped.
After a fairly evenly contested fight over the first six rounds, Kessler's jab became more prevalent starting in the seventh.
Kessler briefly pinned Froch on the ropes in the eighth round, and caused bleeding from the Englishman's nose in the ninth, even as Froch opened and targeted a cavernous cut on the Danish fighter's left eye near the end of that same round.
Froch was coming off of October's split-decision victory over 26-year-old southpaw, Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOs), of Flint, Mich., who rebounded with last month's lopsided, 11th-round disqualification victory over Germany's 30-year-old Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KOs).
Dirrell, Abraham and Ward are all picking Kessler to rebound in victory, while only 30-year-old Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs), of Tulsa, Ok., is picking Froch.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Carl Froch ready to take on Mikkel Kessler despite ear infection -- The Guardian
By Kevin Mitchell, Guardian.co.uk
Carl Froch knows there is more than his unbeaten record and WBC super-middleweight title on the line against Mikkel Kessler in the quiet depths of rural Denmark tomorrow night. As he moves into the third section of Showtime's Super Six Series to find the world's best 12-stone fighter, he is seeking to extend a sequence of wins against elite boxers that would lift him above any British world champion of recent times.
After six years on the periphery of the big time, the 32-year-old Nottingham fighter strung together victories of varying types and quality against the tough young Jean Pascal, followed by a still competitive Jermain Taylor and the awkward American prospect Andre Dirrell – with Kessler and the remarkable Armenian Arthur Abraham to come.
If he wins at a packed Messencenter against Kessler, who gave Joe Calzaghe such a fright in 2007, Froch would probably meet the slick Andre Ward, who so embarrassed the Dane in Oakland last November. After that, depending on where he stands in the points table, he would again fight Dirrell – who was gifted a late disqualification win over Abraham but had looked impressive in the earlier rounds.
On top of that demanding schedule, Froch has also promised Pascal a rematch, which would be for the Canadian's WBC light-heavyweight title. If there is a shopping list better than that over the past 30 years or so, it has escaped the notice of this writer.
"He's already achieved his goals," his trainer, Robert McCracken, said at the weigh-in, where the champion hit the scales a pound under the 12st limit and Kessler weighed a quarter of a pound less. "This is the icing on the cake now, the next three fights especially. He's looking at the finish line and he can't wait to get into the ring."
It is going to be as physically demanding a challenge as the Pascal bout – voted fight of the year in 2008 – and Froch is against a seasoned opponent of proven pedigree fighting in front of 10,000 of his own fans, and a long way from Nottingham. This is the lightest Kessler has weighed in 14 fights over the past eight years. If he is nearing the exit after looking poor against Ward, there has been little evidence of it in his preparation.
"I'll need to be more of an animal in the ring," the popular Dane said. "I've been working on my footwork and have done 174 rounds of sparring. Maybe I have been too nice before." Not many of his 44 opponents in a distinguished career would agree with that. Kessler is among the best Europeans to have fought and won at world level at 12 stone, a former WBA champion who clearly wants to repair the damage done when he lost that title.
Despite an injury scare which proved to be little more than worries about an ear infection, Froch could hardly have had a better lead-up, either. There's nothing like a "mystery injury" to lend spice to a big fight and Froch created a minor stir in little Herning when he revealed he would be going in against Kessler with the sort of undisclosed "niggle" that has been almost a badge of honour throughout his career.
Froch prides himself on his ability to handle pain, from minor surgery without anaesthetics to getting through a fight with a broken hand, which he has done twice. This would not seem to be in that class.
Although he refused to talk about it, he is thought to have injured his ear in sparring and had it checked for any infections before being been passed fit to fight. "He's fine," McCracken said. "It happened ages ago. He will always have minor injuries because he trains right on the weight six weeks before a fight. That can make you more susceptible to small cuts and the like because he hardly has any body fat. It can make sparring a nightmare.
"But he has been in fantastic form in the gym and has been knocking a few of them over. He's been sparring with the likes of Danny McIntosh [English light-heavyweight champion], Colin Fish [the Canadian amateur star] and George Groves [the new Commonwealth super-middleweight champion]. George was really good, with a great attitude, but I pulled him out after a couple of rounds because Carl would just do too much damage. Fish, who is a bit of a superstar over there, went back after a week."
Source: guardian.co.uk
Carl Froch knows there is more than his unbeaten record and WBC super-middleweight title on the line against Mikkel Kessler in the quiet depths of rural Denmark tomorrow night. As he moves into the third section of Showtime's Super Six Series to find the world's best 12-stone fighter, he is seeking to extend a sequence of wins against elite boxers that would lift him above any British world champion of recent times.
After six years on the periphery of the big time, the 32-year-old Nottingham fighter strung together victories of varying types and quality against the tough young Jean Pascal, followed by a still competitive Jermain Taylor and the awkward American prospect Andre Dirrell – with Kessler and the remarkable Armenian Arthur Abraham to come.
If he wins at a packed Messencenter against Kessler, who gave Joe Calzaghe such a fright in 2007, Froch would probably meet the slick Andre Ward, who so embarrassed the Dane in Oakland last November. After that, depending on where he stands in the points table, he would again fight Dirrell – who was gifted a late disqualification win over Abraham but had looked impressive in the earlier rounds.
On top of that demanding schedule, Froch has also promised Pascal a rematch, which would be for the Canadian's WBC light-heavyweight title. If there is a shopping list better than that over the past 30 years or so, it has escaped the notice of this writer.
"He's already achieved his goals," his trainer, Robert McCracken, said at the weigh-in, where the champion hit the scales a pound under the 12st limit and Kessler weighed a quarter of a pound less. "This is the icing on the cake now, the next three fights especially. He's looking at the finish line and he can't wait to get into the ring."
It is going to be as physically demanding a challenge as the Pascal bout – voted fight of the year in 2008 – and Froch is against a seasoned opponent of proven pedigree fighting in front of 10,000 of his own fans, and a long way from Nottingham. This is the lightest Kessler has weighed in 14 fights over the past eight years. If he is nearing the exit after looking poor against Ward, there has been little evidence of it in his preparation.
"I'll need to be more of an animal in the ring," the popular Dane said. "I've been working on my footwork and have done 174 rounds of sparring. Maybe I have been too nice before." Not many of his 44 opponents in a distinguished career would agree with that. Kessler is among the best Europeans to have fought and won at world level at 12 stone, a former WBA champion who clearly wants to repair the damage done when he lost that title.
Despite an injury scare which proved to be little more than worries about an ear infection, Froch could hardly have had a better lead-up, either. There's nothing like a "mystery injury" to lend spice to a big fight and Froch created a minor stir in little Herning when he revealed he would be going in against Kessler with the sort of undisclosed "niggle" that has been almost a badge of honour throughout his career.
Froch prides himself on his ability to handle pain, from minor surgery without anaesthetics to getting through a fight with a broken hand, which he has done twice. This would not seem to be in that class.
Although he refused to talk about it, he is thought to have injured his ear in sparring and had it checked for any infections before being been passed fit to fight. "He's fine," McCracken said. "It happened ages ago. He will always have minor injuries because he trains right on the weight six weeks before a fight. That can make you more susceptible to small cuts and the like because he hardly has any body fat. It can make sparring a nightmare.
"But he has been in fantastic form in the gym and has been knocking a few of them over. He's been sparring with the likes of Danny McIntosh [English light-heavyweight champion], Colin Fish [the Canadian amateur star] and George Groves [the new Commonwealth super-middleweight champion]. George was really good, with a great attitude, but I pulled him out after a couple of rounds because Carl would just do too much damage. Fish, who is a bit of a superstar over there, went back after a week."
Source: guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Bute's Win Further Calls Super Six Into Question -- The Sweet Science
By Frank Lotierzo, The Sweet Science
I don’t know whether or not Lucian Bute is the best super middleweight in the world. But no serious conversation about who actually is can be conducted without his being a part of it. In his last two fights, the IBF champion has closed the show with highlight reel one punch knockouts -- both lethal left uppercuts. One was a body shot landed on Librado Andrade, someone who nobody ever hurts, the other placed just under the chin of Edison Miranda, who’d recently taken Andre Ward the distance.
While watching Bute-Miranda it was clear that Bute had been hurting Edison Miranda with hard uppercuts to the body throughout the third round of their abbreviated fight. About midway through the round, a left uppercut identical to the one that had felled Librado Andrade for the count almost did the same to Miranda, who masked his distress by pounding his own abs. A moment later, another shot hurt him. This time Miranda posed, then charged with his head down, making Bute’s perfectly timed uppercut all the more potent. Edison thudded face first to the canvas. Although his conditioning allowed him to beat the count, he was finished; referee Ernie Sharif didn’t think twice about stopping it.
Lucian Bute has proved that he is more than a hometown attraction, although he’s certainly that. He’s consistently able to draw 15,000 people into the Bell Center in Montreal. He’s an interesting fighter, who doesn’t fight much like anyone else. He moves well in either direction, but he’s not fast footed. He has somewhat quick hands, but more significantly, his punches are sudden. Bute has a very good eye: he’s able to spot openings extremely well, and he fires almost automatically into them. He operates behind a good, solid right jab that is often followed by the straight left. Although he punches in combination, I don’t think that he systematically works out these combinations as much as he senses where they should go. This might mean that he looks like a bigger puncher than he actually is. The hook that Floyd Mayweather used to knock out Ricky Hatton might cause someone watching him for the first time to assume they were seeing a big puncher. Although I’ll give Bute credit for having more power than Mayweather, I can’t see these recent one punch knockouts as suggesting another Thomas Hearns (as Max Kellerman suggested during his interview after the Miranda fight.)
What you're seeing in Lucian Bute is, a fighter with a good degree of natural talent who is dangerous because he sees what's in front of him, and he fights a little scared. I don’t mean that as a criticism. It's one of the things that has kept him undefeated so far. He doesn’t freeze because of it; it somewhat keeps him in alert mode. He looked like he had a healthy respect for Edison Miranda’s power for the first two rounds of their fight. It wasn’t until he’d decided that he could get in and out with combinations against his lead-footed opponent that he grew a little less cautious.
This isn’t to suggest that Lucien Bute won’t fight if it comes to that. But he likes to dictate the terms whenever possible. He was able to control both Miranda and Andrade (another very slow-footed guy) with a double jab, a punch he uses to both maintain distance and to direct opponents. That distance is important to him, and it’s worth noting that even his excellent uppercuts are thrown with a scythe-like motion from what is a conventional uppercut. He’s able to get away with throwing them because of his accuracy and timing.
People undoubtedly would like to see how he’d do against Super Six tournament fighters like Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham, and Carl Froch.
Since that’s not going to happen for the near future, I’ve got another suggestion. He should fight Kelly Pavlik. It makes sense for everybody involved. And even though he’d be favored to beat the former middleweight champion, especially after Pavlik’s poor showing against Sergio Martinez shown on the same HBO broadcast as Bute-Miranda, it’s not a fight without risks. Pavlik can always punch, even late into his fights.
The fight would draw a huge crowd in Montreal. From a risk/reward perspective, it’s by far the best fight Kelly Pavlik could take. He doesn’t need to come back with a tune-up or a confidence builder. His career is at a standstill, and he needs to jump back into the deep end and see what happens. It’s clear that things couldn’t get worse for him than they are now, unless he loses to a fringe opponent, which could happen if Martinez took away what remained of his confidence. Better to roll the dice against a big name, and go out on his shield if necessary.
If Bute could stop Pavlik, it would continue his ascent into the upper echelon of the game. He has a style that’s well suited to doing that. Kelly cuts and, as a result, tends to walk straight into shots that he can’t see. If he walks into one like the one that kayoed Edison Miranda, it might well kayo him too. The question is what happens if Pavlik is able to land his big right. He’d be smart to find out if he can do that.
Lucian Bute is not going to do well moving up in weight -- his body is well suited to 168 and he can’t move down. Facing Pavlik would be a good place keeping fight for him to take while waiting for the Super Six dust to clear. At this point, I’m not sure that Kelly Pavlik is much more dangerous than Edison Miranda was, although the benefits from knocking him out are far greater.
For Miranda, it’s back to ESPN Friday Night Fights, possibly as no more than a prestigious opponent. We know what he can do. And, unfortunately for him, we know what he can’t.
Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com
Source: thesweetscience.com
I don’t know whether or not Lucian Bute is the best super middleweight in the world. But no serious conversation about who actually is can be conducted without his being a part of it. In his last two fights, the IBF champion has closed the show with highlight reel one punch knockouts -- both lethal left uppercuts. One was a body shot landed on Librado Andrade, someone who nobody ever hurts, the other placed just under the chin of Edison Miranda, who’d recently taken Andre Ward the distance.
While watching Bute-Miranda it was clear that Bute had been hurting Edison Miranda with hard uppercuts to the body throughout the third round of their abbreviated fight. About midway through the round, a left uppercut identical to the one that had felled Librado Andrade for the count almost did the same to Miranda, who masked his distress by pounding his own abs. A moment later, another shot hurt him. This time Miranda posed, then charged with his head down, making Bute’s perfectly timed uppercut all the more potent. Edison thudded face first to the canvas. Although his conditioning allowed him to beat the count, he was finished; referee Ernie Sharif didn’t think twice about stopping it.
Lucian Bute has proved that he is more than a hometown attraction, although he’s certainly that. He’s consistently able to draw 15,000 people into the Bell Center in Montreal. He’s an interesting fighter, who doesn’t fight much like anyone else. He moves well in either direction, but he’s not fast footed. He has somewhat quick hands, but more significantly, his punches are sudden. Bute has a very good eye: he’s able to spot openings extremely well, and he fires almost automatically into them. He operates behind a good, solid right jab that is often followed by the straight left. Although he punches in combination, I don’t think that he systematically works out these combinations as much as he senses where they should go. This might mean that he looks like a bigger puncher than he actually is. The hook that Floyd Mayweather used to knock out Ricky Hatton might cause someone watching him for the first time to assume they were seeing a big puncher. Although I’ll give Bute credit for having more power than Mayweather, I can’t see these recent one punch knockouts as suggesting another Thomas Hearns (as Max Kellerman suggested during his interview after the Miranda fight.)
What you're seeing in Lucian Bute is, a fighter with a good degree of natural talent who is dangerous because he sees what's in front of him, and he fights a little scared. I don’t mean that as a criticism. It's one of the things that has kept him undefeated so far. He doesn’t freeze because of it; it somewhat keeps him in alert mode. He looked like he had a healthy respect for Edison Miranda’s power for the first two rounds of their fight. It wasn’t until he’d decided that he could get in and out with combinations against his lead-footed opponent that he grew a little less cautious.
This isn’t to suggest that Lucien Bute won’t fight if it comes to that. But he likes to dictate the terms whenever possible. He was able to control both Miranda and Andrade (another very slow-footed guy) with a double jab, a punch he uses to both maintain distance and to direct opponents. That distance is important to him, and it’s worth noting that even his excellent uppercuts are thrown with a scythe-like motion from what is a conventional uppercut. He’s able to get away with throwing them because of his accuracy and timing.
People undoubtedly would like to see how he’d do against Super Six tournament fighters like Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham, and Carl Froch.
Since that’s not going to happen for the near future, I’ve got another suggestion. He should fight Kelly Pavlik. It makes sense for everybody involved. And even though he’d be favored to beat the former middleweight champion, especially after Pavlik’s poor showing against Sergio Martinez shown on the same HBO broadcast as Bute-Miranda, it’s not a fight without risks. Pavlik can always punch, even late into his fights.
The fight would draw a huge crowd in Montreal. From a risk/reward perspective, it’s by far the best fight Kelly Pavlik could take. He doesn’t need to come back with a tune-up or a confidence builder. His career is at a standstill, and he needs to jump back into the deep end and see what happens. It’s clear that things couldn’t get worse for him than they are now, unless he loses to a fringe opponent, which could happen if Martinez took away what remained of his confidence. Better to roll the dice against a big name, and go out on his shield if necessary.
If Bute could stop Pavlik, it would continue his ascent into the upper echelon of the game. He has a style that’s well suited to doing that. Kelly cuts and, as a result, tends to walk straight into shots that he can’t see. If he walks into one like the one that kayoed Edison Miranda, it might well kayo him too. The question is what happens if Pavlik is able to land his big right. He’d be smart to find out if he can do that.
Lucian Bute is not going to do well moving up in weight -- his body is well suited to 168 and he can’t move down. Facing Pavlik would be a good place keeping fight for him to take while waiting for the Super Six dust to clear. At this point, I’m not sure that Kelly Pavlik is much more dangerous than Edison Miranda was, although the benefits from knocking him out are far greater.
For Miranda, it’s back to ESPN Friday Night Fights, possibly as no more than a prestigious opponent. We know what he can do. And, unfortunately for him, we know what he can’t.
Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com
Source: thesweetscience.com
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Hardship shapes Miranda's ring career -- Montreal Gazette
By HERB ZURKOWSKY, The Gazette
Where might Edison Miranda be, in life and his professional boxing career, had he defeated Arthur Abraham that fateful night in Germany, in September 2006, and captured the International Boxing Federation middleweight title? Miranda, always known for his punch, fractured Abraham's jaw in the fourth round. A round later, the ringside physician recommended the fight be stopped. Instead, referee Randy Neumann gave the champion five minutes to recover from a head-butt and then, during a span of seven rounds, deducted five points from Miranda for butts or low blows.
In a sport renowned for controversy and corruption, this was the ultimate act of duplicity. Requiring a knockout, Miranda instead lost a unanimous decision. It was the first defeat of his career after 26 victories, all but three by KO, and was a harbinger of the future. Miranda would lose three of his next nine.
"Bitter? That's not me, although they robbed me in Germany," the Colombian native, through an interpreter, told The Gazette during a lengthy interview this week.
"Everything that happened, all the people saw. But now, I'm not thinking about what happened or could have been. That's in the past. What could have happened doesn't exist. My opportunity is now."
Tonight at the Bell Centre, Miranda, a man who has overcome obstacles his entire life, will attempt one of the biggest - capturing the IBF super-middleweight title from undefeated hometown hero and favourite Lucian Bute,
25-0 with 20 KOs. The 12-round main event is scheduled for 10:15 p.m.
For the 29-year-old challenger, who sports a 33-4 record with 29 KOs, it could well be his last opportunity at boxing prominence. The 168- pound division is one of the hottest, and liveliest, in the sport. Miranda can't afford another loss if he hopes to remain a player in the category.
But what happens inside the ring pales in comparison with the harrowing life Miranda was forced to endure growing up in the port city of Buenaventura, located on the economically challenged southern coast of Colombia.
Born to a girl only 14 at the time, Miranda was abandoned after only one month, given to caretakers responsible for his upbringing. Constantly neglected, Miranda believed he would benefit more on his own and escaped at age 9.
Through casual conversations around town, he found his uncle working at a construction site, demanding he be taken to his mother. Proving the legitimacy of his claim via a two-inch long circular birthmark on his leg, Miranda was taken to her - only to again be deserted, although his mother married and had more children. Miranda never knew his father.
"Just because I appeared in her life doesn't mean she should stop feeding her kids because of me," he said. "She must have thought I was crazy. I hadn't showered and had no (decent) clothes."
With nowhere to turn, Miranda decided to live and run the streets of Colombia. He slept under trees, a construction-site tarpaulin serving as his blanket. Food? Sometimes he cooked a dead animal he found on the roadside over an open fire. Or he somehow chased down a lizard. Or simply ate out of garbage cans. Four days was the longest he went without food.
He never attended school, learning to read and write, he claimed, through a drug addict who befriended him and taught him the alphabet. Miranda read newspapers, combining letters into words, and then read the Bible daily. His faith and belief of God carried him through difficult times.
"I believe, had my mother not abandoned me, I wouldn't be here. I'd be dead. Of all the people I grew up with, only one is alive. I saw people lost to drugs and alcohol. Or they ended up being killed. It's true. I had no childhood.
"It hurts me a lot. I'm fighting for a title, yet there's no one around me (in Montreal) that has my blood. There are people that love me, but they don't have my blood. I can go out at 1 a.m., but nobody will call and ask me when I'm coming home. My only family is God."
At age 12, Miranda worked a plantain field. The next year, he became a fulltime construction worker and, at 14, was a cattle butcher. His dream was to box, knowing that would be his only means of escape. Miranda launched an amateur career at 15, winning all but four of 132 bouts while capturing four Colombian national titles.
He turned pro in 2001, with the promise of going to the U.S. to fight top middleweights. Instead, Miranda was victimized by an unfair contract, fighting mostly in Colombia and the Dominican Republic for small purses. Often, he never made a penny, settling instead for food and accommodation. It wasn't until May 2005, signing with Warriors Boxing Promotions, that he made his debut in Florida.
"I thought he was joking when he told me his story.
I couldn't believe it," said his manager, Steve Benbasat.
"I realize how resilient he was to recover from it. This is a kid who's really hungry to make it in life. You can see the passion in his eyes.
"I've learned a lot from him. In rough times - business or personal - I equate his story. It becomes a reality check. If he can overcome his tragedies, I can overcome whatever I'm going through."
Miranda has taken his lumps in the ring - he lost a rematch against Abraham, stopped in the fourth; was knocked out by Kelly Pavlik and was outclassed by Andre Ward last May - but also is the only one to defeat top contender Allan Green.
"I feel very proud of my life. I always believe God has something for you. He never gives you too much to handle - just enough," Miranda said. "God will give me the win (against Bute). God has a destiny for me, plans for me, and it begins Saturday."
hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
Source: montrealgazette.com
Where might Edison Miranda be, in life and his professional boxing career, had he defeated Arthur Abraham that fateful night in Germany, in September 2006, and captured the International Boxing Federation middleweight title? Miranda, always known for his punch, fractured Abraham's jaw in the fourth round. A round later, the ringside physician recommended the fight be stopped. Instead, referee Randy Neumann gave the champion five minutes to recover from a head-butt and then, during a span of seven rounds, deducted five points from Miranda for butts or low blows.
In a sport renowned for controversy and corruption, this was the ultimate act of duplicity. Requiring a knockout, Miranda instead lost a unanimous decision. It was the first defeat of his career after 26 victories, all but three by KO, and was a harbinger of the future. Miranda would lose three of his next nine.
"Bitter? That's not me, although they robbed me in Germany," the Colombian native, through an interpreter, told The Gazette during a lengthy interview this week.
"Everything that happened, all the people saw. But now, I'm not thinking about what happened or could have been. That's in the past. What could have happened doesn't exist. My opportunity is now."
Tonight at the Bell Centre, Miranda, a man who has overcome obstacles his entire life, will attempt one of the biggest - capturing the IBF super-middleweight title from undefeated hometown hero and favourite Lucian Bute,
25-0 with 20 KOs. The 12-round main event is scheduled for 10:15 p.m.
For the 29-year-old challenger, who sports a 33-4 record with 29 KOs, it could well be his last opportunity at boxing prominence. The 168- pound division is one of the hottest, and liveliest, in the sport. Miranda can't afford another loss if he hopes to remain a player in the category.
But what happens inside the ring pales in comparison with the harrowing life Miranda was forced to endure growing up in the port city of Buenaventura, located on the economically challenged southern coast of Colombia.
Born to a girl only 14 at the time, Miranda was abandoned after only one month, given to caretakers responsible for his upbringing. Constantly neglected, Miranda believed he would benefit more on his own and escaped at age 9.
Through casual conversations around town, he found his uncle working at a construction site, demanding he be taken to his mother. Proving the legitimacy of his claim via a two-inch long circular birthmark on his leg, Miranda was taken to her - only to again be deserted, although his mother married and had more children. Miranda never knew his father.
"Just because I appeared in her life doesn't mean she should stop feeding her kids because of me," he said. "She must have thought I was crazy. I hadn't showered and had no (decent) clothes."
With nowhere to turn, Miranda decided to live and run the streets of Colombia. He slept under trees, a construction-site tarpaulin serving as his blanket. Food? Sometimes he cooked a dead animal he found on the roadside over an open fire. Or he somehow chased down a lizard. Or simply ate out of garbage cans. Four days was the longest he went without food.
He never attended school, learning to read and write, he claimed, through a drug addict who befriended him and taught him the alphabet. Miranda read newspapers, combining letters into words, and then read the Bible daily. His faith and belief of God carried him through difficult times.
"I believe, had my mother not abandoned me, I wouldn't be here. I'd be dead. Of all the people I grew up with, only one is alive. I saw people lost to drugs and alcohol. Or they ended up being killed. It's true. I had no childhood.
"It hurts me a lot. I'm fighting for a title, yet there's no one around me (in Montreal) that has my blood. There are people that love me, but they don't have my blood. I can go out at 1 a.m., but nobody will call and ask me when I'm coming home. My only family is God."
At age 12, Miranda worked a plantain field. The next year, he became a fulltime construction worker and, at 14, was a cattle butcher. His dream was to box, knowing that would be his only means of escape. Miranda launched an amateur career at 15, winning all but four of 132 bouts while capturing four Colombian national titles.
He turned pro in 2001, with the promise of going to the U.S. to fight top middleweights. Instead, Miranda was victimized by an unfair contract, fighting mostly in Colombia and the Dominican Republic for small purses. Often, he never made a penny, settling instead for food and accommodation. It wasn't until May 2005, signing with Warriors Boxing Promotions, that he made his debut in Florida.
"I thought he was joking when he told me his story.
I couldn't believe it," said his manager, Steve Benbasat.
"I realize how resilient he was to recover from it. This is a kid who's really hungry to make it in life. You can see the passion in his eyes.
"I've learned a lot from him. In rough times - business or personal - I equate his story. It becomes a reality check. If he can overcome his tragedies, I can overcome whatever I'm going through."
Miranda has taken his lumps in the ring - he lost a rematch against Abraham, stopped in the fourth; was knocked out by Kelly Pavlik and was outclassed by Andre Ward last May - but also is the only one to defeat top contender Allan Green.
"I feel very proud of my life. I always believe God has something for you. He never gives you too much to handle - just enough," Miranda said. "God will give me the win (against Bute). God has a destiny for me, plans for me, and it begins Saturday."
hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
Source: montrealgazette.com
Friday, 16 April 2010
Lucian Bute, One Of Boxing's Most Dominant Fighters -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Romanian-born left-handed IBF super middleweight (168 pounds) champion, Lucian Bute, may not only be the most dominant fighter in his weight class, but also, among the most dominant boxers in the sport, overall.
For if Bute isn't stopping fighters with his vicious body shots, as he did during fourth-round stoppage of his past two rivals, Fulgencio Zuniga, and, Librado Andrade, then the Canadian resident is simply completely outclassing them on points.
"Bute is in a different league. Bute, who is not a huge puncher, was able to knock out both Librado Andrade and Fulgencio Zuniga -- two extremely rugged and durable fighters," said Scott Crouse, co-host Ballroom Boxing Report, Baltimore's ESPN Radio 1300AM. "Those two knockouts happened because Bute is smart and surgically precise with his punches."
On Saturday night, Bute will put his record of 25-0, with 20 knockouts, on the line against hard hard-hitting, Colombian, Edison Miranda (33-4, 29 KOs) before Bute's partisan fans at the Bell Center in Montreal.
HBO has paired Bute-Miranda as a double-header with Kelly Pavlik (36-1, 32 KOs) defending his WBC and WBO middleweight (160 pounds) crowns against Spain's southpaw, WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) champion, Sergio Martinez (44-2-2, 24 KOs).
"It will certainly be a pleasure for me to box again at the Bell Centre and to defend my title for the fifth time in front of my fans," said the 29-year-old Bute,in an earlier statement. "I am taking Miranda very seriously. He demolished many good fighters and is a notorious puncher. I will have to keep my concentration level on high to stay champion."
In November, Bute twice dropped the steel-chinned, Andrade (28-3, 21 KOs), a native of Mexico who lives in La Habra, Calif., who was knocked out for the first time in his career.
Bute had dropped the 31-year-old Andrade with a short left hand to the chin early in the round before finishing him with a hard, left to the rib cage from which left Andrade being counted out on all fours.
Bute-Andrade was a rematch of the champion's unanimous decision victory over Andrade in October of 2008, which ended in controversy at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
In that fight, Bute had to bravely survive a near-final round knockout against Andrade, who entered the bout at 24-1 with 18 stoppages and with his lone defeat having come by decision against Denmark's former WBA super middleweight king Mikkel Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs).
"We found out a few things about Bute after he stopped Librado Andrade," said, Joe Santoliquito, managing editor Ring Magazine, "and one of those things is that Bute can punch."
But he can also box.
Bute's last bout with Andrade notwithstanding -- he won by the scores of 117-109, 115-111, and, 115-110 -- the southpaw's resume has been one of dominance, whether stopping or widely out-pointing his opponents.
Before rematching Andrade, Bute was coming off of the March, 2009, stoppage of Zuniga.
But during two fights in 2006, Andre Thysse lost 120-107, 120-108, and, 120-109, and, Loleng Mock, 120-109, 120-108, and, 118-111.
In February and June of 2007, respectively, Bute dominated Sergey Tatevosyan, 119-108, on two judges' cards, and, 120-108, on the third; as well as Sakio Bika, 118-109, on two cards, and, 116-111, on the third.
During some of his most recent knockouts, the Canadian was ahead 98-92, twice, and, 97-93 on the third card before stopping Berrio, and he was pitching a shutout, 90-80, on all three cards before scoring a 10th-round knockout over former world champion, William Joppy.
Joppy had gone the distance with Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor, and was stopped for only the second time in his career. The other time Joppy was knocked out was against Felix Trinidad in the fifth round in May of 2001.
"Bute uses the ring well," said Steve Farhood, Showtime boxing analyst. "Bute is very good defensively, has excellent, excellent balance, and everything you need against a pressure fighter."
The 33-year-old Miranda is coming off of October's first-round knockout of Francisco Sierra, of Mexico, who slipped to 20-3 with 19 knockouts, ending a winning streak of nine straight KOs since being stopped in the 10th round by Rigoberto Alverez in December of 2006.
In victory, Miranda rebounded from May's unanimous decision loss to former Olympic gold medalist Andrew Ward (21-0, 13 KOs), who dethroned Kessler as WBA king in November of Showtime's Super Six Super Middleweight World Boxing Classic.
Miranda's win over Sierra marked his first time working with trainer Joe Goossen, brother of Miranda's promoter, Dan Goossen. Miranda won his first 26 fights, with the initial 21 coming by way of knockout, and an incredible 16 of those being in the first round.
Among Miranda's biggest victories was a March, 2007 unanimous decision over Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, whom he out-pointed over 10 rounds, 96-91, on two cards, and, 97-90, on the third.
Green, who dropped Miranda in the eighth round, has since won six consecutive fights, four of them by knockout, and has been inserted into the Super Six to face Ward in June.
Green replaced former world champion, Jermain Taylor, who pulled out of the Super Six after being knocked out by Germany's Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs).
Nicknamed "Pantera," or "Panther," Miranda had lost four of his previous 10 fights heading into the matchup against Sierra. But Miranda began working in June with Joe Goossen, who has complimented the fighter's punching power with improved boxing skills and dietary habits.
Including Ward, Miranda's losses have all been to world champions.
Miranda has lost twice, by decision, and, knockout respectively, to Abraham, in September of 2006, and, June of 2008, and he was stopped in the seventh round in May of 2007 by Pavlik, who went on to dethrone Taylor as WBO and WBC middleweight (160 pounds) titlist.
In his first bout against Abraham, in Germany, Miranda broke the then IBF middleweight champ's jaw in the fourth round. Abraham, nevertheless, fought on in a bout that appeared dangerously close to being stopped.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Romanian-born left-handed IBF super middleweight (168 pounds) champion, Lucian Bute, may not only be the most dominant fighter in his weight class, but also, among the most dominant boxers in the sport, overall.
For if Bute isn't stopping fighters with his vicious body shots, as he did during fourth-round stoppage of his past two rivals, Fulgencio Zuniga, and, Librado Andrade, then the Canadian resident is simply completely outclassing them on points.
"Bute is in a different league. Bute, who is not a huge puncher, was able to knock out both Librado Andrade and Fulgencio Zuniga -- two extremely rugged and durable fighters," said Scott Crouse, co-host Ballroom Boxing Report, Baltimore's ESPN Radio 1300AM. "Those two knockouts happened because Bute is smart and surgically precise with his punches."
On Saturday night, Bute will put his record of 25-0, with 20 knockouts, on the line against hard hard-hitting, Colombian, Edison Miranda (33-4, 29 KOs) before Bute's partisan fans at the Bell Center in Montreal.
HBO has paired Bute-Miranda as a double-header with Kelly Pavlik (36-1, 32 KOs) defending his WBC and WBO middleweight (160 pounds) crowns against Spain's southpaw, WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) champion, Sergio Martinez (44-2-2, 24 KOs).
"It will certainly be a pleasure for me to box again at the Bell Centre and to defend my title for the fifth time in front of my fans," said the 29-year-old Bute,in an earlier statement. "I am taking Miranda very seriously. He demolished many good fighters and is a notorious puncher. I will have to keep my concentration level on high to stay champion."
In November, Bute twice dropped the steel-chinned, Andrade (28-3, 21 KOs), a native of Mexico who lives in La Habra, Calif., who was knocked out for the first time in his career.
Bute had dropped the 31-year-old Andrade with a short left hand to the chin early in the round before finishing him with a hard, left to the rib cage from which left Andrade being counted out on all fours.
Bute-Andrade was a rematch of the champion's unanimous decision victory over Andrade in October of 2008, which ended in controversy at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
In that fight, Bute had to bravely survive a near-final round knockout against Andrade, who entered the bout at 24-1 with 18 stoppages and with his lone defeat having come by decision against Denmark's former WBA super middleweight king Mikkel Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs).
"We found out a few things about Bute after he stopped Librado Andrade," said, Joe Santoliquito, managing editor Ring Magazine, "and one of those things is that Bute can punch."
But he can also box.
Bute's last bout with Andrade notwithstanding -- he won by the scores of 117-109, 115-111, and, 115-110 -- the southpaw's resume has been one of dominance, whether stopping or widely out-pointing his opponents.
Before rematching Andrade, Bute was coming off of the March, 2009, stoppage of Zuniga.
But during two fights in 2006, Andre Thysse lost 120-107, 120-108, and, 120-109, and, Loleng Mock, 120-109, 120-108, and, 118-111.
In February and June of 2007, respectively, Bute dominated Sergey Tatevosyan, 119-108, on two judges' cards, and, 120-108, on the third; as well as Sakio Bika, 118-109, on two cards, and, 116-111, on the third.
During some of his most recent knockouts, the Canadian was ahead 98-92, twice, and, 97-93 on the third card before stopping Berrio, and he was pitching a shutout, 90-80, on all three cards before scoring a 10th-round knockout over former world champion, William Joppy.
Joppy had gone the distance with Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor, and was stopped for only the second time in his career. The other time Joppy was knocked out was against Felix Trinidad in the fifth round in May of 2001.
"Bute uses the ring well," said Steve Farhood, Showtime boxing analyst. "Bute is very good defensively, has excellent, excellent balance, and everything you need against a pressure fighter."
The 33-year-old Miranda is coming off of October's first-round knockout of Francisco Sierra, of Mexico, who slipped to 20-3 with 19 knockouts, ending a winning streak of nine straight KOs since being stopped in the 10th round by Rigoberto Alverez in December of 2006.
In victory, Miranda rebounded from May's unanimous decision loss to former Olympic gold medalist Andrew Ward (21-0, 13 KOs), who dethroned Kessler as WBA king in November of Showtime's Super Six Super Middleweight World Boxing Classic.
Miranda's win over Sierra marked his first time working with trainer Joe Goossen, brother of Miranda's promoter, Dan Goossen. Miranda won his first 26 fights, with the initial 21 coming by way of knockout, and an incredible 16 of those being in the first round.
Among Miranda's biggest victories was a March, 2007 unanimous decision over Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, whom he out-pointed over 10 rounds, 96-91, on two cards, and, 97-90, on the third.
Green, who dropped Miranda in the eighth round, has since won six consecutive fights, four of them by knockout, and has been inserted into the Super Six to face Ward in June.
Green replaced former world champion, Jermain Taylor, who pulled out of the Super Six after being knocked out by Germany's Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs).
Nicknamed "Pantera," or "Panther," Miranda had lost four of his previous 10 fights heading into the matchup against Sierra. But Miranda began working in June with Joe Goossen, who has complimented the fighter's punching power with improved boxing skills and dietary habits.
Including Ward, Miranda's losses have all been to world champions.
Miranda has lost twice, by decision, and, knockout respectively, to Abraham, in September of 2006, and, June of 2008, and he was stopped in the seventh round in May of 2007 by Pavlik, who went on to dethrone Taylor as WBO and WBC middleweight (160 pounds) titlist.
In his first bout against Abraham, in Germany, Miranda broke the then IBF middleweight champ's jaw in the fourth round. Abraham, nevertheless, fought on in a bout that appeared dangerously close to being stopped.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
HBO likes 'charismatic' Bute -- The Montreal Gazette
By Herb Zurkowsky , The Gazette
MONTREAL - The possibilities are endless for International Boxing Federation super-middleweight champion Lucian Bute – provided he continues winning.
And should he succeed, there’s a good chance HBO will be there for every punch and round of action.
“Lucian Bute is charismatic. Even with the language barrier, he comes across really well on TV, and you can’t underestimate that power,” said Luis Barragan, the director of programming for HBO Sports. “Guys who become stars have that charisma, and it comes across on the screen.
“And he’s a really talented fighter and a really good boxer.”
HBO, the specialty channel available to more than 30-million homes in the U.S. – and the one considered the leader in boxing – will televise Bute’s title defence against Edison Miranda Saturday night at the Bell Centre.
The card, which begins at 7, will be picked up by the cable giant at 10, and will precede HBO’s coverage of Kelly Pavlik defending his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization middleweight titles against Sergio Gabriel Martinez in Atlantic City. Pavlik’s bout will be available at the Bell Centre.
The possibility exists of Pavlik moving to 168 pounds and eventually fighting Bute. It’s no coincidence HBO decided on the doubleheader, nor that it had a say in Miranda as the opponent. This marks Miranda’s fourth appearance on HBO.
While Bute was training in Miami for nine weeks his trainer, Stéphan Larouche, said they were preparing for HBO as much as for Miranda.
“You do it unconsciously,” Larouche said this week, upon their return to Montreal. “You’re in show business and you’ve got to deliver. You better get used to this forum and close the show if you can. The fans of HBO, you want them to be awake. If they fall asleep, they won’t want you back. And you won’t make money.”
It was likely no coincidence this week when Barragan, just hours following his arrival to the city, had lunch with Jean Bédard, the CEO of the Sportscene Group Inc., which oversees promoter InterBox and guides Bute’s career.
This marks Bute’s second consecutive appearance on the cable channel, virtually unheard of for a Canadian boxer. HBO came to Quebec last November, when Bute dispatched Librado Andrade in their rematch, requiring only four rounds to knock him out. With the victory, Bute improved to 25-0 with 20 KOs.
Barragan said his company was skeptical of Bute prior to the bout, but ended the evening convinced he was for real.
“That fight opened our eyes,” Barragan said. “As fight people, we’re suspicious of undefeated records – especially from places like Canada, which doesn’t produce a lot of great fighters. The Andrade performance was a measuring tape.”
Bute won a unanimous decision against Andrade in their first fight, but Bute also was knocked down near the end of the final round and appeared to benefit from a long count. HBO was curious how he would fare, without controversy.
“He showed good lateral movement. He hits guys with punches they don’t see coming,” Barragan said.
Considering it was Bute’s first exposure to American audiences, and the bout coincided with U.S. Thanksgiving weekend, it served as a reasonable barometer. “This fight’s more high profile,” Barragan said. “And you have Pavlik following on a good boxing night.
“Bute’s going to have a lot more eyes on him.”
HBO wanted Miranda due to his one-punch knockout potential, giving him entertainment value. Miranda, 33-4 (29 KOs) is no stranger to marquee matchups, having faced Pavlik, Arthur Abraham and Andre Ward.
“Let’s not kid ourselves. This night isn’t about Miranda. It’s about Bute, and how he reacts to Miranda,” Barragan said. “This will give Bute the opportunity to add another element.”
hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
Source: montrealgazette.com
MONTREAL - The possibilities are endless for International Boxing Federation super-middleweight champion Lucian Bute – provided he continues winning.
And should he succeed, there’s a good chance HBO will be there for every punch and round of action.
“Lucian Bute is charismatic. Even with the language barrier, he comes across really well on TV, and you can’t underestimate that power,” said Luis Barragan, the director of programming for HBO Sports. “Guys who become stars have that charisma, and it comes across on the screen.
“And he’s a really talented fighter and a really good boxer.”
HBO, the specialty channel available to more than 30-million homes in the U.S. – and the one considered the leader in boxing – will televise Bute’s title defence against Edison Miranda Saturday night at the Bell Centre.
The card, which begins at 7, will be picked up by the cable giant at 10, and will precede HBO’s coverage of Kelly Pavlik defending his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization middleweight titles against Sergio Gabriel Martinez in Atlantic City. Pavlik’s bout will be available at the Bell Centre.
The possibility exists of Pavlik moving to 168 pounds and eventually fighting Bute. It’s no coincidence HBO decided on the doubleheader, nor that it had a say in Miranda as the opponent. This marks Miranda’s fourth appearance on HBO.
While Bute was training in Miami for nine weeks his trainer, Stéphan Larouche, said they were preparing for HBO as much as for Miranda.
“You do it unconsciously,” Larouche said this week, upon their return to Montreal. “You’re in show business and you’ve got to deliver. You better get used to this forum and close the show if you can. The fans of HBO, you want them to be awake. If they fall asleep, they won’t want you back. And you won’t make money.”
It was likely no coincidence this week when Barragan, just hours following his arrival to the city, had lunch with Jean Bédard, the CEO of the Sportscene Group Inc., which oversees promoter InterBox and guides Bute’s career.
This marks Bute’s second consecutive appearance on the cable channel, virtually unheard of for a Canadian boxer. HBO came to Quebec last November, when Bute dispatched Librado Andrade in their rematch, requiring only four rounds to knock him out. With the victory, Bute improved to 25-0 with 20 KOs.
Barragan said his company was skeptical of Bute prior to the bout, but ended the evening convinced he was for real.
“That fight opened our eyes,” Barragan said. “As fight people, we’re suspicious of undefeated records – especially from places like Canada, which doesn’t produce a lot of great fighters. The Andrade performance was a measuring tape.”
Bute won a unanimous decision against Andrade in their first fight, but Bute also was knocked down near the end of the final round and appeared to benefit from a long count. HBO was curious how he would fare, without controversy.
“He showed good lateral movement. He hits guys with punches they don’t see coming,” Barragan said.
Considering it was Bute’s first exposure to American audiences, and the bout coincided with U.S. Thanksgiving weekend, it served as a reasonable barometer. “This fight’s more high profile,” Barragan said. “And you have Pavlik following on a good boxing night.
“Bute’s going to have a lot more eyes on him.”
HBO wanted Miranda due to his one-punch knockout potential, giving him entertainment value. Miranda, 33-4 (29 KOs) is no stranger to marquee matchups, having faced Pavlik, Arthur Abraham and Andre Ward.
“Let’s not kid ourselves. This night isn’t about Miranda. It’s about Bute, and how he reacts to Miranda,” Barragan said. “This will give Bute the opportunity to add another element.”
hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
Source: montrealgazette.com
Monday, 12 April 2010
Quitting While Ahead or Out Cold: Andre Dirrell’s Victory over Arthur Abraham -- Ringside Report
By Geoff “The Professor” Poundes, RingsideReport.com
If the Super-Six saw itself as a crucible within which to mix a volatile collection of fighters/promoters/ring physicians/fight-fans and hangers-on, then the Arthur Abraham-Andre Dirrell match-up in round two of the tournament will have lived up to everyone’s expectations.
Stranger things have happened in a boxing ring, but not often. Dirrell, now 19-1, 13 KO’s, won the fight flat on his back, his leg twitching spasmodically. When he was dragged to his feet he began weeping like a baby, shouting at once “I got dropped, man” and then “He hit me when I was down!”
He was right the second time. Arthur Abraham, the previously undefeated Armenian, had indeed clocked him while he was on one knee in the corner, courtesy of a pressure-induced slip, causing Dirrell to blink for a second, and then stretch out on the canvas rubbing his head and eyes and writhing as though he’s been harpooned.
The referee Laurence Cole, who had had a poor night up to that point, at least made the right decision – in fact, the only decision he could make – which was to summarily disqualify Abraham and award the fight to the prostrate American.
In the fracas of the aftermath in the ring, Abraham argued somewhat strangely that as he hadn’t intentionally landed a right hand on Dirrell, the fight should have continued after Andre had been allowed some recovery time – but he was surely clutching at straws given that Dirrell, legitimately or otherwise, was behaving as though his senses had been scrambled into the Detroit night.
So the controversy was not about Cole’s decision, but about the legitimacy of Dirrell’s “injuries”. Abraham and his cohorts were in doubt that Dirrell had acted out, in order to steal the win in a fight that he had dominated for nine rounds, but was clearly losing grip off as Abraham stepped things up. Dirrell was dropped heavily in the tenth (a knockdown missed by Cole, but plainly obvious to everyone else), and was under fire in the eleventh when the finish came, just as the cognoscenti were beginning to believe that Abraham’s customary late rally might just yield him yet another knockout.
Much has been made since of Dirrell’s acting abilities, if indeed that was what won him the fight. This scribe’s first impression on the night was that Abraham’s blow was nothing more than a glancing one, that Dirrell had taken several more hefty shots in the fight, and that he was milking it for all he was worth. Replays of the incident appeared to back up that conclusion, as there was a clear pause between impact and effect, which is not unusual in boxing, but Dirrell’s subsequent reactions did not appear those of a man concussed.
Generally, a twitching leg on a knocked out fighter means just that – he’s knocked cold. He’s not in a position to writhe around tearfully holding his head.
Once Dirrell was on his feet, he certainly appeared to be disoriented, and he was shouting a stream of conflicting statements in all directions. Later, his physician was interviewed in the dressing room saying that he was sure Dirrell had suffered a concussion – and yet, Dirrell could plainly be seen behind him on his feet and talking, and he’d just exited the ring under his own steam and walked unaided from ring to backstage. In this scribe’s experience a fighter having shipped the degree of punishment Dirrell’s actions suggested in the ring, would have been on his back, in an oxygen mask, and on his way to hospital.
The truth will never be known, but the question marks will remain over Andre Dirrell for some time to come. For the first nine rounds of this contest he was a revelation, repeating the feat of his fellow countryman, namesake and friend Andre Ward, who had made another super-six European Mikkel Kessler look ordinary in their fight last November. Abraham found himself in with a real technician, and couldn’t get a foothold in the fight as Dirrell put on a display of speed and accuracy.
It may well be that Carl Froch is the main beneficiary of the result, since he has taken a decision from Dirrell, albeit a controversial one. Possibly the two super-six favorites, Abraham and Kessler, have been severely compromised in the tournament and by the two young guns who most felt might have been out of their depth in the competition. Should Froch turn back Kessler later this month, and in light of Kessler’s dire showing against Ward he would be favored to do so, then Froch will become the new leader of the pack as the tourney moves into stage three.
As for Andre Dirrell his next opponent will be Andre Ward, and he’ll have some pressure in the fight to show that he’s deserving of the Abraham win. Ward will have almost certainly taken care of Allan Green by then (they fight in June), and will have his eyes firmly set on maximum super-six points.
Rest assured when all the dust is settled, Arthur Abraham will be looking to drag Andre Dirrell into a rematch to reverse a result that I’m sure he believes was the wrong one. There remains the possibility that such a fight could well be for the unified super-middle title, which is now very much up for grabs.
Over here in the UK we’re reading with increasing alarm about the extra-curricular antics of Joe Calzaghe, who is not taking retirement well, and getting himself involved in all sorts of unsavory incidents. Calzaghe won’t be the first ex-fighter to find life away from the rigorous discipline of boxing hard to stomach, and I shan’t be at all surprised if in a year to eighteen months he steps back into the ring to give the super-six champion a chance at true legitimacy.
Source: ringsidereport.com
If the Super-Six saw itself as a crucible within which to mix a volatile collection of fighters/promoters/ring physicians/fight-fans and hangers-on, then the Arthur Abraham-Andre Dirrell match-up in round two of the tournament will have lived up to everyone’s expectations.
Stranger things have happened in a boxing ring, but not often. Dirrell, now 19-1, 13 KO’s, won the fight flat on his back, his leg twitching spasmodically. When he was dragged to his feet he began weeping like a baby, shouting at once “I got dropped, man” and then “He hit me when I was down!”
He was right the second time. Arthur Abraham, the previously undefeated Armenian, had indeed clocked him while he was on one knee in the corner, courtesy of a pressure-induced slip, causing Dirrell to blink for a second, and then stretch out on the canvas rubbing his head and eyes and writhing as though he’s been harpooned.
The referee Laurence Cole, who had had a poor night up to that point, at least made the right decision – in fact, the only decision he could make – which was to summarily disqualify Abraham and award the fight to the prostrate American.
In the fracas of the aftermath in the ring, Abraham argued somewhat strangely that as he hadn’t intentionally landed a right hand on Dirrell, the fight should have continued after Andre had been allowed some recovery time – but he was surely clutching at straws given that Dirrell, legitimately or otherwise, was behaving as though his senses had been scrambled into the Detroit night.
So the controversy was not about Cole’s decision, but about the legitimacy of Dirrell’s “injuries”. Abraham and his cohorts were in doubt that Dirrell had acted out, in order to steal the win in a fight that he had dominated for nine rounds, but was clearly losing grip off as Abraham stepped things up. Dirrell was dropped heavily in the tenth (a knockdown missed by Cole, but plainly obvious to everyone else), and was under fire in the eleventh when the finish came, just as the cognoscenti were beginning to believe that Abraham’s customary late rally might just yield him yet another knockout.
Much has been made since of Dirrell’s acting abilities, if indeed that was what won him the fight. This scribe’s first impression on the night was that Abraham’s blow was nothing more than a glancing one, that Dirrell had taken several more hefty shots in the fight, and that he was milking it for all he was worth. Replays of the incident appeared to back up that conclusion, as there was a clear pause between impact and effect, which is not unusual in boxing, but Dirrell’s subsequent reactions did not appear those of a man concussed.
Generally, a twitching leg on a knocked out fighter means just that – he’s knocked cold. He’s not in a position to writhe around tearfully holding his head.
Once Dirrell was on his feet, he certainly appeared to be disoriented, and he was shouting a stream of conflicting statements in all directions. Later, his physician was interviewed in the dressing room saying that he was sure Dirrell had suffered a concussion – and yet, Dirrell could plainly be seen behind him on his feet and talking, and he’d just exited the ring under his own steam and walked unaided from ring to backstage. In this scribe’s experience a fighter having shipped the degree of punishment Dirrell’s actions suggested in the ring, would have been on his back, in an oxygen mask, and on his way to hospital.Of course, Dirrell’s proponents would counter with the argument: why would a guy who had won at least 8 of the previous 10 rounds, including a 10-8 round in the fourth when he dropped Abraham for an 8-count, seek an early exit from the fight, when he only had to stay on his feet for four more minutes to pick up an easy decision. It’s an argument that would hold water, were it not for the fact that in the previous four minutes he had been knocked on the seat of his pants, and was looking tired in the face of his opponents increasing momentum. Abraham’s people were adamant that had the fight continued Arthur would have got to Dirrell, and of course they can point to plenty of occasions in his 32 fight career when he’d done just that.
The truth will never be known, but the question marks will remain over Andre Dirrell for some time to come. For the first nine rounds of this contest he was a revelation, repeating the feat of his fellow countryman, namesake and friend Andre Ward, who had made another super-six European Mikkel Kessler look ordinary in their fight last November. Abraham found himself in with a real technician, and couldn’t get a foothold in the fight as Dirrell put on a display of speed and accuracy.It may well be that Carl Froch is the main beneficiary of the result, since he has taken a decision from Dirrell, albeit a controversial one. Possibly the two super-six favorites, Abraham and Kessler, have been severely compromised in the tournament and by the two young guns who most felt might have been out of their depth in the competition. Should Froch turn back Kessler later this month, and in light of Kessler’s dire showing against Ward he would be favored to do so, then Froch will become the new leader of the pack as the tourney moves into stage three.
As for Andre Dirrell his next opponent will be Andre Ward, and he’ll have some pressure in the fight to show that he’s deserving of the Abraham win. Ward will have almost certainly taken care of Allan Green by then (they fight in June), and will have his eyes firmly set on maximum super-six points.
Rest assured when all the dust is settled, Arthur Abraham will be looking to drag Andre Dirrell into a rematch to reverse a result that I’m sure he believes was the wrong one. There remains the possibility that such a fight could well be for the unified super-middle title, which is now very much up for grabs.
Over here in the UK we’re reading with increasing alarm about the extra-curricular antics of Joe Calzaghe, who is not taking retirement well, and getting himself involved in all sorts of unsavory incidents. Calzaghe won’t be the first ex-fighter to find life away from the rigorous discipline of boxing hard to stomach, and I shan’t be at all surprised if in a year to eighteen months he steps back into the ring to give the super-six champion a chance at true legitimacy.
Source: ringsidereport.com
Fulfilling its promise -- 15Rounds
By Bart Barry, 15Rounds.com
Recent criticisms of Showtime’s “Super Six World Boxing Classic” are beginning to make a pattern, faint but detectable. The tournament’s critics appear not to be actual Showtime subscribers. That is, to justify the 10 monthly dollars they save on cable bills, otherwise thoughtful observers now discount the network’s innovative concept by implying it hasn’t met expectations.
Whose expectations? How not?
Among writers, smart ones at least, there’s ever a pessimistic bent to resist. Failure, for being quantifiable, attracts intellect. Smart people like to sort and group things, and success is more elusive than failure. And the writer’s job, often, is to say anything at all even when he can’t say something nice. So it goes.
But it’s time to check that pessimism and take another look at this tournament. And then another and another. A couple Saturdays from now, on April 24, the second fight in Group Stage 2 features Carl “The Cobra” Froch against Mikkel Kessler – to whose surname Hamlet fans might attach “The Dane.” The fight happens in Herning, Denmark. It will likely be the most consequential prizefight in that country’s history.
Last week the Nottinghamshire Cobra and Kessler the Dane joined a conference call without many American writers. They were counterprogrammed by a Kelly Pavlik call in what appeared to be part of HBO’s strategy for undermining Showtime’s tournament, regardless of long-term consequences. Those writers that went for the bigger domestic name missed a chance to learn more about Froch and Kessler. Kelly Pavlik, meanwhile, is strong and ready. Got it.
Asked for an opening comment, Carl Froch began in the third-person beloved by megalomaniacal dictators and prizefighters: “This is the WBC super middleweight champion.” Froch went on to say lots more in the hour that followed, but far as opening comments went, that was it.
Froch is a person of no extraordinary intelligence who speaks eloquently. The ideas he expresses are no larger than other prizefighters’. To his workaday ideas, though, he brings a surprising flamboyance and authority.
Goodness me, might that be an apt metaphor for his fighting style? Come to think of it, yes.
Here’s another thought about Froch’s eloquence. It is a high commentary on the English school system’s deservedly fine reputation. There is no tradition of unintelligent eloquence in America; instead, we revel in smart people expressing themselves badly and call it “egalitarianism” or something. But Froch is a boxing epitome of the peculiar English tradition whose standard bearer is Jane Austen, a writer of no particular intelligence who was still a genius. Solve that riddle, and you’re an Anglophile.
Asked about Mikkel Kessler’s allegations of roughhousing and otherwise dirty tactics by Andre Ward in his last fight – to hear Kessler tell it, Ward only stopped clinching long enough to head butt him – Froch was unwilling to lend Kessler’s excuses credence or Ward any bona fides as a roughhouser. About Kessler, Froch said, “From what I saw, he was quite conclusively outboxed.”
“Quite conclusively outboxed”; how rich is that? It’s precise, short and brooks no disagreement. It doesn’t say anything folks outside the Kessler camp didn’t already think in more expansive ways. But it says it just right. And it also implies there’s more to Froch, as a man and a fighter, than just a surplus of pride and awkwardness – which is about all American writers have credited him with having.
Froch should be exposed by Kessler in his next fight. But Froch should have been exposed by Andre Dirrell in his last fight. He should have been exposed by Jermain Taylor in his penultimate fight. He should have been exposed by Jean Pascal in the fight before that. Had you shown an American bookmaker a tape of any one of Froch’s first 23 fights and asked for Pascal-Taylor-Dirrell parlay pick, there’s no way you would have gotten: Froch 3-0. But that’s exactly where Froch stands.
Froch is proudest of three things: his championship belt, his unblemished record and his high knockout ratio. It’s the third that makes the least sense, though, when you watch Froch’s awkward, often-unbalanced and always unorthodox approach to punching. Asked for a mechanical explanation of the concussion that nevertheless affixes to the ends of his fists, Froch had little insight but plenty of well-chosen words.
“It’s a biological mystery,” he said before exploring, then dismissing, other possibilities such as lower-body strength: “But I have skinny chicken legs, so it’s not that.” So he settled on a combination of mystery and good genes.
Whatever it is mechanically, psychologically it’s about commitment. Carl Froch punches with power because Carl Froch believes he punches with power. There’s more to it than that, of course – accuracy helps, and so do his odd angles – but belief has to be the foundation. Froch hits opponents hard for the same reason Mickey Ward was a great body puncher: He believes.
Someone has to. Whoever was the favorite pick among experts when the Super Six tournament began – Kessler or Arthur Abraham, mostly – no one outside Nottingham had Froch to win. And yet, Froch began by decisioning Dirrell while Dirrell searched for a professional identity. He now faces Kessler in the throes of an identity crisis. And in Group Stage 3, he’ll face an Arthur Abraham who might be more tentative than usual. Get in the playoffs, as they say, and anything can happen.
Which is exactly the point of this tournament. It is unpredictable. It is dramatic. And it’s supported by a “Fight Camp 360” program blessedly focused on boxing and devoid of Mayweathers. The episodes move well and filter the noise some think prizefighting is about. Unlike HBO’s “24/7” programs, then, “Fight Camp 360” is made for people who care about boxing those other 50 weeks of the year.
The Super Six remains the best thing to happen to our sport since Vazquez-Marquez III.
Source: 15rounds.com
Recent criticisms of Showtime’s “Super Six World Boxing Classic” are beginning to make a pattern, faint but detectable. The tournament’s critics appear not to be actual Showtime subscribers. That is, to justify the 10 monthly dollars they save on cable bills, otherwise thoughtful observers now discount the network’s innovative concept by implying it hasn’t met expectations.
Whose expectations? How not?
Among writers, smart ones at least, there’s ever a pessimistic bent to resist. Failure, for being quantifiable, attracts intellect. Smart people like to sort and group things, and success is more elusive than failure. And the writer’s job, often, is to say anything at all even when he can’t say something nice. So it goes.
But it’s time to check that pessimism and take another look at this tournament. And then another and another. A couple Saturdays from now, on April 24, the second fight in Group Stage 2 features Carl “The Cobra” Froch against Mikkel Kessler – to whose surname Hamlet fans might attach “The Dane.” The fight happens in Herning, Denmark. It will likely be the most consequential prizefight in that country’s history.
Last week the Nottinghamshire Cobra and Kessler the Dane joined a conference call without many American writers. They were counterprogrammed by a Kelly Pavlik call in what appeared to be part of HBO’s strategy for undermining Showtime’s tournament, regardless of long-term consequences. Those writers that went for the bigger domestic name missed a chance to learn more about Froch and Kessler. Kelly Pavlik, meanwhile, is strong and ready. Got it.Asked for an opening comment, Carl Froch began in the third-person beloved by megalomaniacal dictators and prizefighters: “This is the WBC super middleweight champion.” Froch went on to say lots more in the hour that followed, but far as opening comments went, that was it.
Froch is a person of no extraordinary intelligence who speaks eloquently. The ideas he expresses are no larger than other prizefighters’. To his workaday ideas, though, he brings a surprising flamboyance and authority.
Goodness me, might that be an apt metaphor for his fighting style? Come to think of it, yes.
Here’s another thought about Froch’s eloquence. It is a high commentary on the English school system’s deservedly fine reputation. There is no tradition of unintelligent eloquence in America; instead, we revel in smart people expressing themselves badly and call it “egalitarianism” or something. But Froch is a boxing epitome of the peculiar English tradition whose standard bearer is Jane Austen, a writer of no particular intelligence who was still a genius. Solve that riddle, and you’re an Anglophile.
Asked about Mikkel Kessler’s allegations of roughhousing and otherwise dirty tactics by Andre Ward in his last fight – to hear Kessler tell it, Ward only stopped clinching long enough to head butt him – Froch was unwilling to lend Kessler’s excuses credence or Ward any bona fides as a roughhouser. About Kessler, Froch said, “From what I saw, he was quite conclusively outboxed.”
“Quite conclusively outboxed”; how rich is that? It’s precise, short and brooks no disagreement. It doesn’t say anything folks outside the Kessler camp didn’t already think in more expansive ways. But it says it just right. And it also implies there’s more to Froch, as a man and a fighter, than just a surplus of pride and awkwardness – which is about all American writers have credited him with having.
Froch should be exposed by Kessler in his next fight. But Froch should have been exposed by Andre Dirrell in his last fight. He should have been exposed by Jermain Taylor in his penultimate fight. He should have been exposed by Jean Pascal in the fight before that. Had you shown an American bookmaker a tape of any one of Froch’s first 23 fights and asked for Pascal-Taylor-Dirrell parlay pick, there’s no way you would have gotten: Froch 3-0. But that’s exactly where Froch stands.
Froch is proudest of three things: his championship belt, his unblemished record and his high knockout ratio. It’s the third that makes the least sense, though, when you watch Froch’s awkward, often-unbalanced and always unorthodox approach to punching. Asked for a mechanical explanation of the concussion that nevertheless affixes to the ends of his fists, Froch had little insight but plenty of well-chosen words.
“It’s a biological mystery,” he said before exploring, then dismissing, other possibilities such as lower-body strength: “But I have skinny chicken legs, so it’s not that.” So he settled on a combination of mystery and good genes.
Whatever it is mechanically, psychologically it’s about commitment. Carl Froch punches with power because Carl Froch believes he punches with power. There’s more to it than that, of course – accuracy helps, and so do his odd angles – but belief has to be the foundation. Froch hits opponents hard for the same reason Mickey Ward was a great body puncher: He believes.
Someone has to. Whoever was the favorite pick among experts when the Super Six tournament began – Kessler or Arthur Abraham, mostly – no one outside Nottingham had Froch to win. And yet, Froch began by decisioning Dirrell while Dirrell searched for a professional identity. He now faces Kessler in the throes of an identity crisis. And in Group Stage 3, he’ll face an Arthur Abraham who might be more tentative than usual. Get in the playoffs, as they say, and anything can happen.
Which is exactly the point of this tournament. It is unpredictable. It is dramatic. And it’s supported by a “Fight Camp 360” program blessedly focused on boxing and devoid of Mayweathers. The episodes move well and filter the noise some think prizefighting is about. Unlike HBO’s “24/7” programs, then, “Fight Camp 360” is made for people who care about boxing those other 50 weeks of the year.
The Super Six remains the best thing to happen to our sport since Vazquez-Marquez III.
Source: 15rounds.com
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Abraham’s management protesting loss to Dirrell – looking to get it changed to a ‘no decision’ -- BoxingNews24
By Jim Dower, BoxingNews24.com
Sauerland, the promotional company for Arthur Abraham
(31-1, 25 KO’s), is looking to get his recent 11th round disqualification loss to Andre Dirrell overturned and changed to a ‘no decision,’ according to German news agency Bild.de. They’re unhappy that American referee Lawrence Cole, who worked the Abraham-Dirrell stage 2 Super Six tournament bout on March 27th, failed to shout “Break” after Dirrell has accidently slipped on the canvas in the 11th round.
Abraham, not hearing any stop in the action, landed a right hand to the side of Dirrell’s head while he was on one knee, knocking Dirrell out and causing referee Lawrence Cole to disqualify Abraham. After the fight, Abraham complained that he didn’t notice that Dirrell was down when he hit him, and called him a “good actor.”
Sauerland has protested the loss to the WBC, and want the loss to be taken off. Besides the punch that led to the disqualification, Abraham’s management is also unhappy that Cole didn’t rule that Dirrell was knocked down in the 10th round after getting hit with a hard right hand that put Dirrell on his backside. Cole ruled that he had tripped over Abraham’s foot.
Additionally, Abraham’s German management felt that Dirrell should have had points taken off for a series of low blows, which Dirrell was allowed to land without being penalized by Cole. But their main gripe is that Cole failed to shout “Break” after Dirrell slipped to the canvas in the 11th. Without the referee stopping the action, Abraham continued to fight and blasted Dirrell with a hard right to the head that badly hurt him.
Earlier in the fight, Dirrell had hit Abraham with a low blow, and Dirrell continued to go after Abraham, even though the German looked to be in visible pain and bending forward. Dirrell looked briefly at the referee and when he saw that he wasn’t going to stop the action, Dirrell went after Abraham and missed with a big left hook. The difference between what Dirrell did and what Abraham did was that Dirrell looked at the referee before proceeding to continue his attack, whereas Abraham didn’t hesitate after Dirrell slipped on the canvas, bending down and hitting Dirrell with a hard right hand to the head.
It’s unclear whether the WBC will overturn the decision. It’s hard to imagine they will, because there wasn’t much time for the referee Cole to shout for a stop in the action because he appeared to be partially shielded from what was taking place by Abraham’s back and was far away from the action. It’s possible the WBC will overturn it, but I doubt it. Dirrell appeared to be clearly down and Abraham had to actually bend over to hit him. Even if Abraham didn’t receive any instructions from the referee, it should seem pretty obvious that Dirrell was down and defenseless at the time he was hit by Abraham.
Source: boxingnews24.com
Sauerland, the promotional company for Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KO’s), is looking to get his recent 11th round disqualification loss to Andre Dirrell overturned and changed to a ‘no decision,’ according to German news agency Bild.de. They’re unhappy that American referee Lawrence Cole, who worked the Abraham-Dirrell stage 2 Super Six tournament bout on March 27th, failed to shout “Break” after Dirrell has accidently slipped on the canvas in the 11th round. Abraham, not hearing any stop in the action, landed a right hand to the side of Dirrell’s head while he was on one knee, knocking Dirrell out and causing referee Lawrence Cole to disqualify Abraham. After the fight, Abraham complained that he didn’t notice that Dirrell was down when he hit him, and called him a “good actor.”
Sauerland has protested the loss to the WBC, and want the loss to be taken off. Besides the punch that led to the disqualification, Abraham’s management is also unhappy that Cole didn’t rule that Dirrell was knocked down in the 10th round after getting hit with a hard right hand that put Dirrell on his backside. Cole ruled that he had tripped over Abraham’s foot.
Additionally, Abraham’s German management felt that Dirrell should have had points taken off for a series of low blows, which Dirrell was allowed to land without being penalized by Cole. But their main gripe is that Cole failed to shout “Break” after Dirrell slipped to the canvas in the 11th. Without the referee stopping the action, Abraham continued to fight and blasted Dirrell with a hard right to the head that badly hurt him.
Earlier in the fight, Dirrell had hit Abraham with a low blow, and Dirrell continued to go after Abraham, even though the German looked to be in visible pain and bending forward. Dirrell looked briefly at the referee and when he saw that he wasn’t going to stop the action, Dirrell went after Abraham and missed with a big left hook. The difference between what Dirrell did and what Abraham did was that Dirrell looked at the referee before proceeding to continue his attack, whereas Abraham didn’t hesitate after Dirrell slipped on the canvas, bending down and hitting Dirrell with a hard right hand to the head.
It’s unclear whether the WBC will overturn the decision. It’s hard to imagine they will, because there wasn’t much time for the referee Cole to shout for a stop in the action because he appeared to be partially shielded from what was taking place by Abraham’s back and was far away from the action. It’s possible the WBC will overturn it, but I doubt it. Dirrell appeared to be clearly down and Abraham had to actually bend over to hit him. Even if Abraham didn’t receive any instructions from the referee, it should seem pretty obvious that Dirrell was down and defenseless at the time he was hit by Abraham.
Source: boxingnews24.com
Carl Froch: “I may just put Kessler into retirement” -- Eastside Boxing
By Geoffrey Ciani, Eastside Boxing
This week’s edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with reigning WBC super middleweight champion Carl “The Cobra Froch. In round one of the Super Six super middleweight tournament Froch won a somewhat controversial decision against Andre Dirrell, who has since gone on to beat Arthur Abraham in round two. Now Froch prepares for his own round two match-up when he squares off against Mikkel Kessler on April 24 in Kessler’s home country of Denmark. Determined as always, Froch made his intentions clear—he plans on winning the tournament and doing so in style. Here are some excerpts from that interview:
His views on Kessler’s last performance against Andre Ward:
“There’s an old cliché, ‘styles make fights’. I don’t fight like Andre Ward, but obviously there’s a few flaws exposed there. He doesn’t move very well. He doesn’t move that well Mikkel Kessler. He can’t operate, he comes in and out in straight lines. He goes through the basics very well. So I’m not going to underestimate him or go in there with any set game plan, I’m just going to do my thing and that’s usually enough.”
Regarding his own performance against Andre Dirrell in round one of the Super Six:
On whether he believes Dirrell would have been able to survive the distance had Abraham not committed the foul that resulted in disqualification:“It is difficult to say. I know it was counted as a knockdown in round ten, but there was a clear knockdown from where I was standing in my lounge watching it on TV. It looked like a clean knockdown. A punch connected on the chin and he went over. There was a little bit of a question mark around where his feet were when he fell over. Was it a trip or was he hit with a flush punch on the jaw when he went over. After that he was running and holding and surviving. Abraham was getting to him and catching up with him, but Abraham was tiring himself a little bit. So who knows, it’s the million dollar question whether Abraham was going to catch up with him and knock him out or was Dirrell going to survive? Dirrell probably would have moved, and held, and survived like he did against me.”
On whether he thinks he can take advantage of Kessler’s low confidence following his one-sided loss at the hands of Andre Ward:
“Obviously there’s an opening there to try and take advantage, but there’s the wounded fox syndrome where an animal’s been wounded and is bleeding. He’s going to come out fighting. You’ve got to realize Mikkel Kessler’s got absolutely nothing to lose now. He’s already lost his world title and he’s been put in a position now where he’s fighting for the WBC world title in his very next fight and on top of that it’s in his home town, so yeah he’s going to have chinks in his armor and that mentally can be seen as a bit negative. But is that going affect him enough to make perform really badly? Perhaps it might make him fight even better. All I could say is Kessler’s going to be a worse Kessler or a better Kessler, and what I will say is I’m going in the fight on the back of three great wins: Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell.”
Regarding who he believes would win the Super Six if he was included:
“Andre Ward’s obviously a very good fighter. He’s coming back off a win with Mikkel Kessler. Allan Green is very much an unknown quantity in my eyes. I’ve not seen much of him. He boxed on the under card when I fought Jermain Taylor and he got the kid out of there very early, he boxed against recently and got him out early as well, but this is at a certain level. It will be interesting to see how the Ward-Green fight unfolds, but I think the winner of that fight would, essentially without my entry, be the winner of that tournament because Abraham is limited, Kessler’s already been beaten by Ward, and Andre Dirrell—very good fighter, but he hasn’t got the heart that you need and I think there’s a question mark around his chin now. Even though he won the fight against Abraham, he got knocked out very badly so that’s going to mentally scar him and when he fights next he will be even more negative thinking with not wanting to get hit with one of them shots and get put to sleep temporarily. So I think you got to say it’s a Ward or a Green without ‘The Cobra’ being involved.”
On Allan Green replacing Jermain Taylor in the tournament:
“I think it’s a very feasible entrance. Allan Green is as good an entrance as anyone I could have picked. I think he’s probably the next best super middleweight other than the other world champion, Lucian Bute, who’s not got the heart to come into it. He doesn’t have the confidence because he was offered a place. I tried to get a fight with him before coming into the tournament and he basically just doesn’t want to fight anybody so he’s basically just ‘Mr. Annoying’ in the super middleweight. He’s got his own title and he’s sitting on it and picking easy fights, but without going into him, Allan Green I think is a great edition to the tournament. He’s a very worthwhile competitor into the Super Six. He deserves his place in here, that’s for sure.”
Regarding whether he agreed with Jermain Taylor’s decision to pull out of the tournament:
“I pretty much finished him off. Arthur Abraham took a lot of credit for that fight a lot of the craze for beating Taylor but I think he was already damaged goods when he fought Abraham and Abraham got him out of there. Jermain Taylor made the right decision coming out especially after the injury he received to the brain. I’m hearing he got brain bleed in his fight against Abraham, so you’ve got to say that’s the right decision to come out of the tournament, take some time off, to heal up, and reevaluate what you’re doing. Jermain Taylor’s had a fantastic career. He was undisputed middleweight champion, he beat (Bernard) Hopkins twice, he was an Olympic Medalist, he was a big, big superstar on both sides of the Atlantic. He can retire happily with his chin held high that he’s had a fantastic career.”
On how he feels he will do in his third round match-up against Abraham:
“Abraham, every time he seems to fight lately, he comes in with vertical forearms and a peek-a-boo style hiding behind his tight defense. I don’t think he’s big enough or strong enough. He can obviously punch hard, but he’s a middleweight coming up to super middleweight and I’ve stood next to him and I’m about four or five inches taller than him. I think he’s about 5’8”-5’9”, I might be wrong, he might be 5’9”—no, he’s not 5’10”. So I’m quite a bit taller than him. He’s got short levers as they say in England, he’s not got very long arms, he’s not a very rangy fighter so it’s difficult for him to get in range without taking about five or six shots on the way in. I’ve got fast hands, I got a long jab, I’m fit for twelve rounds—I don’t see how he can beat me. He’s going to have to try and steam forward and land a big shot and if he lands a big shot he’s going to land it on the granite chin of ‘The Cobra’ so it’s not going to make any impression. So I see the fight being a win for me ten times out of ten, simple as that. Andre Dirrell showed how to beat Abraham, but like I said unfortunately, he also showed how to get knocked out at the end of the fight.”
His views on the round two match-up between Ward and Green:
“I was really looking forward to watching that after I finish my job with Kessler but it’s been pushed back to June now for whatever reason. I heard Ward’s got a knee injury but there’s a lot of speculation around that, but I won’t put my money’s worth of comments in there because I don’t know the circumstances of his injury and stuff. I had a knee operation myself a couple of years ago and it can be quite a key injury. But how do I see the Green-Ward fight going? I don’t know. It depends on how good Green and like I said earlier, I have not seen a lot of Green to know if he’s got enough to put the pressure on and land his heavy punches against someone as experienced and as well schooled as the Olympic Gold Medalist and WBA world champion Ward. It’s going to be a good fight. It’s going to be awful close, but if Green puts the pressure on him and starts landing with his artillery he can win the fight, simple as that. But you I’m not a boxing commentator, I’m not a big boxing fan, I’m not a boxing expert, but I do know a few things about the super middleweight division and to me that fight’s a close fight and one that I can’t call just because of a lack of knowledge on both fighters, to be honest.”
His views on the third round contest between Andre Dirrell and Andre Ward:
“It’s hard to pick a winner out of Ward and Dirrell. Dirrell’s a good fighter with fast hands, but he’s a wounded soldier now. You’d favor Ward with experience and with the fact that he’s not been damaged. You got to remember now, Dirrell’s slightly damaged goods mentally, if not anything else physically. He’s mentally damaged, and Ward’s not had that so the smart money’s on Ward for the Ward-Dirrell fight.”
His views on the third round contest between Allan Green and Mikkel Kessler:
“Who knows? It’s another 50-50 fight. That’s what’s so great about the Super Six World Boxing Classic. All the matches are quite tightly wounded up because of the sheer style and experience of each fighter. I don’t know enough about Green to know if he can beat Kessler. I’d probably say Kessler beats Green, but who knows. After I beat Kessler, who knows what he is going to have left in the tank. I may just put him into retirement.”
His views on former super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe who is widely viewed as the best super middleweight of all time:
“The winner of this tournament is going to be considered the best super middleweight of all time. The only thing Joe Calzaghe’s going to be remembered for now is that issue from the press. When people mention Joe Calzaghe all they’re going to mention is that he’s a drug fiend and a coke-head.”
Regarding who he thinks will win the upcoming mega bout between Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Junior:
“Shane Mosley possesses quite a lot of punching power and is still skillful but he’s in his twilight years. He’s pretty much hanging on to a career that finished a few years ago. Mayweather’s still up there with the best of them. He’s pound for pound the best fighter, even better than Manny Pacquiao who everybody is raving about over here. I see that fight going for Floyd Mayweather, I really do.”
On whether he has any fears about the fight going to the scorecards in Kessler’s home country of Denmark:
“The WBC is an honorable fighting organization and they don’t get involved in robberies or controversial decisions. They’re a great council. I’m an honorable champion. I’ve served the belt very well so going over to Denmark for me is not a worry because the officials, the judges, and everybody involved will be fair when scoring and I expect nothing other than a fair decision. The best man on that night should win the fight. Obviously I’m of the opinion that I’m going to be the better man on that night. Although it is in Denmark, it is a slight advantage for Mikkel because he’s got the home crowd advantage—some people consider that to be an advantage and some consider that to be a disadvantage, it depends on the person. You always have a chance that he’s landing his shots and the crowd’s screaming for him and the judges can see the work being done is being acknowledged by the crowd. It does help and it is slightly influential, but it’s my job to silence the crowd like I did in Connecticut in the middle of the forest in North America when I boxed Jermain Taylor. 95%-98% of the crowd was against me, but I don’t worry about going into the lion’s den because I’ve done it before many times as an amateur, I’ve done it a couple of times as a professional and I’ll be doing it again in Denmark on the 24th of April.”
***
If you missed last week’s special edition of On the Ropes, be sure to tune in and listen now!
***
Join the On the Ropes Mailing List!
If you want to keep up with the latest OTR news, why not join our mailing list? You can sign up by sending an email to ontheropes@eastsideboxing.com with the subject heading “SIGN ME UP!”
Be sure to tune in!
***
For more information about On the Ropes Boxing Radio please visit our website:
http://www.ontheropesboxingradio.com
To contact Geoffrey Ciani or Jenna J:
ontheropes@eastsideboxing.com
To read more by Ciani or Jenna please visit The Mushroom Mag:
http//www.eatthemushroom.com/mag
Source: eastsideboxing.com
This week’s edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with reigning WBC super middleweight champion Carl “The Cobra Froch. In round one of the Super Six super middleweight tournament Froch won a somewhat controversial decision against Andre Dirrell, who has since gone on to beat Arthur Abraham in round two. Now Froch prepares for his own round two match-up when he squares off against Mikkel Kessler on April 24 in Kessler’s home country of Denmark. Determined as always, Froch made his intentions clear—he plans on winning the tournament and doing so in style. Here are some excerpts from that interview:
His views on Kessler’s last performance against Andre Ward:
“There’s an old cliché, ‘styles make fights’. I don’t fight like Andre Ward, but obviously there’s a few flaws exposed there. He doesn’t move very well. He doesn’t move that well Mikkel Kessler. He can’t operate, he comes in and out in straight lines. He goes through the basics very well. So I’m not going to underestimate him or go in there with any set game plan, I’m just going to do my thing and that’s usually enough.”
Regarding his own performance against Andre Dirrell in round one of the Super Six:
“Yeah, I was very happy with my performance. I did what I had to do to retain my title against somebody 
who was being very negative, running and holding, and was somewhat skilled, as Andre Dirrell showed he possess in the performance with Arthur Abraham the other day. But with me, he chose to run and hold.. I mean Abraham is one of those quiet type guys who doesn’t really throw many punches or bring much variation to the game, so Dirrell was able to pretty much do what he wanted with him. Against me, he was always having that risk of getting hit and roughing him up and putting the pressure on him. He didn’t like that, so he opted to run and hold. As for my performance, I fought someone with very fast hands, very skillful, and he was never able to adapt to my style. I beat him at his own game, so I would give myself an A+ for that performance.”
who was being very negative, running and holding, and was somewhat skilled, as Andre Dirrell showed he possess in the performance with Arthur Abraham the other day. But with me, he chose to run and hold.. I mean Abraham is one of those quiet type guys who doesn’t really throw many punches or bring much variation to the game, so Dirrell was able to pretty much do what he wanted with him. Against me, he was always having that risk of getting hit and roughing him up and putting the pressure on him. He didn’t like that, so he opted to run and hold. As for my performance, I fought someone with very fast hands, very skillful, and he was never able to adapt to my style. I beat him at his own game, so I would give myself an A+ for that performance.”On the fight between Dirrell and Abraham:
“I thought he boxed very well and he put combinations together to body and head, but Abraham stood in front of him just like a heavy bag would. It’s not hard to look good against something when there’s not much coming back and Abraham’s guilty of probably not working hard enough. He didn’t really fire much back and he held his guard very tight and upright. I’ve boxed people like that myself as an amateur and Eastern European fighters in the turtle defense like they say. It’s quite easy to just pick them apart and punch when you want and just move when they attack and you see anything coming. I told everybody before that fight Dirrell would probably outbox him and look like a million dollars doing it or get knocked out. Both of those happened. He outpointed Abraham and looked good doing it but he also got knocked out which was unfortunate for Dirrell. So my predictions came through, that’s for sure.”
On whether he believes Dirrell would have been able to survive the distance had Abraham not committed the foul that resulted in disqualification:On whether he thinks he can take advantage of Kessler’s low confidence following his one-sided loss at the hands of Andre Ward:
“Obviously there’s an opening there to try and take advantage, but there’s the wounded fox syndrome where an animal’s been wounded and is bleeding. He’s going to come out fighting. You’ve got to realize Mikkel Kessler’s got absolutely nothing to lose now. He’s already lost his world title and he’s been put in a position now where he’s fighting for the WBC world title in his very next fight and on top of that it’s in his home town, so yeah he’s going to have chinks in his armor and that mentally can be seen as a bit negative. But is that going affect him enough to make perform really badly? Perhaps it might make him fight even better. All I could say is Kessler’s going to be a worse Kessler or a better Kessler, and what I will say is I’m going in the fight on the back of three great wins: Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell.”
Regarding who he believes would win the Super Six if he was included:
“Andre Ward’s obviously a very good fighter. He’s coming back off a win with Mikkel Kessler. Allan Green is very much an unknown quantity in my eyes. I’ve not seen much of him. He boxed on the under card when I fought Jermain Taylor and he got the kid out of there very early, he boxed against recently and got him out early as well, but this is at a certain level. It will be interesting to see how the Ward-Green fight unfolds, but I think the winner of that fight would, essentially without my entry, be the winner of that tournament because Abraham is limited, Kessler’s already been beaten by Ward, and Andre Dirrell—very good fighter, but he hasn’t got the heart that you need and I think there’s a question mark around his chin now. Even though he won the fight against Abraham, he got knocked out very badly so that’s going to mentally scar him and when he fights next he will be even more negative thinking with not wanting to get hit with one of them shots and get put to sleep temporarily. So I think you got to say it’s a Ward or a Green without ‘The Cobra’ being involved.”
On Allan Green replacing Jermain Taylor in the tournament:
“I think it’s a very feasible entrance. Allan Green is as good an entrance as anyone I could have picked. I think he’s probably the next best super middleweight other than the other world champion, Lucian Bute, who’s not got the heart to come into it. He doesn’t have the confidence because he was offered a place. I tried to get a fight with him before coming into the tournament and he basically just doesn’t want to fight anybody so he’s basically just ‘Mr. Annoying’ in the super middleweight. He’s got his own title and he’s sitting on it and picking easy fights, but without going into him, Allan Green I think is a great edition to the tournament. He’s a very worthwhile competitor into the Super Six. He deserves his place in here, that’s for sure.”
Regarding whether he agreed with Jermain Taylor’s decision to pull out of the tournament:
“I pretty much finished him off. Arthur Abraham took a lot of credit for that fight a lot of the craze for beating Taylor but I think he was already damaged goods when he fought Abraham and Abraham got him out of there. Jermain Taylor made the right decision coming out especially after the injury he received to the brain. I’m hearing he got brain bleed in his fight against Abraham, so you’ve got to say that’s the right decision to come out of the tournament, take some time off, to heal up, and reevaluate what you’re doing. Jermain Taylor’s had a fantastic career. He was undisputed middleweight champion, he beat (Bernard) Hopkins twice, he was an Olympic Medalist, he was a big, big superstar on both sides of the Atlantic. He can retire happily with his chin held high that he’s had a fantastic career.”
On how he feels he will do in his third round match-up against Abraham:
“Abraham, every time he seems to fight lately, he comes in with vertical forearms and a peek-a-boo style hiding behind his tight defense. I don’t think he’s big enough or strong enough. He can obviously punch hard, but he’s a middleweight coming up to super middleweight and I’ve stood next to him and I’m about four or five inches taller than him. I think he’s about 5’8”-5’9”, I might be wrong, he might be 5’9”—no, he’s not 5’10”. So I’m quite a bit taller than him. He’s got short levers as they say in England, he’s not got very long arms, he’s not a very rangy fighter so it’s difficult for him to get in range without taking about five or six shots on the way in. I’ve got fast hands, I got a long jab, I’m fit for twelve rounds—I don’t see how he can beat me. He’s going to have to try and steam forward and land a big shot and if he lands a big shot he’s going to land it on the granite chin of ‘The Cobra’ so it’s not going to make any impression. So I see the fight being a win for me ten times out of ten, simple as that. Andre Dirrell showed how to beat Abraham, but like I said unfortunately, he also showed how to get knocked out at the end of the fight.”
His views on the round two match-up between Ward and Green:
“I was really looking forward to watching that after I finish my job with Kessler but it’s been pushed back to June now for whatever reason. I heard Ward’s got a knee injury but there’s a lot of speculation around that, but I won’t put my money’s worth of comments in there because I don’t know the circumstances of his injury and stuff. I had a knee operation myself a couple of years ago and it can be quite a key injury. But how do I see the Green-Ward fight going? I don’t know. It depends on how good Green and like I said earlier, I have not seen a lot of Green to know if he’s got enough to put the pressure on and land his heavy punches against someone as experienced and as well schooled as the Olympic Gold Medalist and WBA world champion Ward. It’s going to be a good fight. It’s going to be awful close, but if Green puts the pressure on him and starts landing with his artillery he can win the fight, simple as that. But you I’m not a boxing commentator, I’m not a big boxing fan, I’m not a boxing expert, but I do know a few things about the super middleweight division and to me that fight’s a close fight and one that I can’t call just because of a lack of knowledge on both fighters, to be honest.”
His views on the third round contest between Andre Dirrell and Andre Ward:
“It’s hard to pick a winner out of Ward and Dirrell. Dirrell’s a good fighter with fast hands, but he’s a wounded soldier now. You’d favor Ward with experience and with the fact that he’s not been damaged. You got to remember now, Dirrell’s slightly damaged goods mentally, if not anything else physically. He’s mentally damaged, and Ward’s not had that so the smart money’s on Ward for the Ward-Dirrell fight.”
His views on the third round contest between Allan Green and Mikkel Kessler:
“Who knows? It’s another 50-50 fight. That’s what’s so great about the Super Six World Boxing Classic. All the matches are quite tightly wounded up because of the sheer style and experience of each fighter. I don’t know enough about Green to know if he can beat Kessler. I’d probably say Kessler beats Green, but who knows. After I beat Kessler, who knows what he is going to have left in the tank. I may just put him into retirement.”
His views on former super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe who is widely viewed as the best super middleweight of all time:
“The winner of this tournament is going to be considered the best super middleweight of all time. The only thing Joe Calzaghe’s going to be remembered for now is that issue from the press. When people mention Joe Calzaghe all they’re going to mention is that he’s a drug fiend and a coke-head.”
Regarding who he thinks will win the upcoming mega bout between Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Junior:
“Shane Mosley possesses quite a lot of punching power and is still skillful but he’s in his twilight years. He’s pretty much hanging on to a career that finished a few years ago. Mayweather’s still up there with the best of them. He’s pound for pound the best fighter, even better than Manny Pacquiao who everybody is raving about over here. I see that fight going for Floyd Mayweather, I really do.”
On whether he has any fears about the fight going to the scorecards in Kessler’s home country of Denmark:
“The WBC is an honorable fighting organization and they don’t get involved in robberies or controversial decisions. They’re a great council. I’m an honorable champion. I’ve served the belt very well so going over to Denmark for me is not a worry because the officials, the judges, and everybody involved will be fair when scoring and I expect nothing other than a fair decision. The best man on that night should win the fight. Obviously I’m of the opinion that I’m going to be the better man on that night. Although it is in Denmark, it is a slight advantage for Mikkel because he’s got the home crowd advantage—some people consider that to be an advantage and some consider that to be a disadvantage, it depends on the person. You always have a chance that he’s landing his shots and the crowd’s screaming for him and the judges can see the work being done is being acknowledged by the crowd. It does help and it is slightly influential, but it’s my job to silence the crowd like I did in Connecticut in the middle of the forest in North America when I boxed Jermain Taylor. 95%-98% of the crowd was against me, but I don’t worry about going into the lion’s den because I’ve done it before many times as an amateur, I’ve done it a couple of times as a professional and I’ll be doing it again in Denmark on the 24th of April.”
***
If you missed last week’s special edition of On the Ropes, be sure to tune in and listen now!
***
Join the On the Ropes Mailing List!
If you want to keep up with the latest OTR news, why not join our mailing list? You can sign up by sending an email to ontheropes@eastsideboxing.com with the subject heading “SIGN ME UP!”
Be sure to tune in!
***
For more information about On the Ropes Boxing Radio please visit our website:
http://www.ontheropesboxingradio.com
To contact Geoffrey Ciani or Jenna J:
ontheropes@eastsideboxing.com
To read more by Ciani or Jenna please visit The Mushroom Mag:
http//www.eatthemushroom.com/mag
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)