By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Polish-born former light heavyweight (175 pounds) and cruiserweight (200 pounds) champion, Tomasz Adamek, of Jersey City, earned his 10th consecutive victory, and only his third as a heavyweight by majority decision in defense of his IBF International crown against Chris Arreola in Saturday night's HBO-televised main event at Citizen's Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.
The 33-year-old, 6-foot-2, Adamek improved to 41-1, with 27 KOs against the 6-4, 29-year-old Arreola (28-2, 25 KOs), of Riverside, Calif, who represented Adamek's most difficult challenge to date.
Joe Pasquale and Barry Druxman had it for Adamek, 117-111, and, 115-113, while judge Tony Crebs had it even at 114-114.
FanHouse had it for Adamek, 116-112.
"It was a tough fight. Chris Arreola prepared very good. He had good conditioning, but I was smarter, and I was faster, and that's how I won," said Adamek, who was out-weighed, 217-to-250, by Arreola, a man who tipped the scales at a career-high, 263-pounds for his last bout. "I was never hurt. I'm too quick. I have a tough chin."
Adamek had dedicated Saturday's bout to the 96 passengers and crew who died in last Saturday's plane crash in Russia near Smolensk, including Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, and several political, military and religious leaders.
Arreola was coming off of December's fourth-round knockout of Brian Minto (34-3, 21 KOs), whom he stopped for the first time in the latter's career. In September, Arreola, himself, was KO'd in the 10th-round by WBC champion, Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs).
Arreola was gracious in defeat, agreeing that the judges scored the fight correctly.
"First of all, I want to thank all of the Polish fans who came out to see the fight. You guys are great fans, and you have a great fighter in Tomasz Adamek," said Arreola. "And all of my Mexican fans, you have to give it up for Tomasz Adamek. He's a great [fighter.] But I came out and I blew my opportunity."
Adamek suffered his only loss in February 2007, when he was dethroned as WBC light heavyweight (175 pounds) champion by Chad Dawson.
"I didn't plan for this guy to beat my a**, but he beat me, man, he beat me," said Arreola. "He did what he wanted to do in the ring, and you know, everybody's got to be proud of him, and my hat's off to him."
Arreola said that he fought with an injured leftt hand in the fifth round, but fought on. He showed no signs of pain, however, until the 10th round, when his straight right hand landed on the crown of Adamek's head.
"It started earlier in the fifth round, but I kept going and going. But then, finally, in the 10th round, I hurt it really bad," said Arreola. "But in all honesty, man, he was the better fighter tonight, and he fought his gameplan to perfection."
Adamek debuted in boxing's largest division with October's fifth-round knockout of former world heavyweight title contender, Andrew Golota (41-8-1, 33 KOs), whom Adamek dropped in the first, and, fifth rounds, despite being out-weighed, 214-to-256.
"My dream is to win a championship in a third weight category, and I know that I will," said Adamek, who was a career-high 220 for his last fight, a Feb. 6, 12-round, unanimous decision over over former U.S. Olympian, Jason Estrada.
"My boss will enter into negotiations for a title fight, so, tomorrow, I'll think about that. But tonight, I won," said Adamek, who was out-weighed, 237-to-220.5, by Estrada. "I'm happy. And I want to thank all of the people who came to watch my fight. Thank you to everybody."
Adamek's 10-bout run includes six knockouts.
Arreola vs. Adamek
Round 1: The 6-foot-2 Adamek weighed in at 217 pounds -- 33 pounds less than the 250-pound, 6-4 Arreola. Adamek comes forward, jabbing lightly to the body. Arreola reaches with a jab and lands. Adamek tags Arreola twice to the body. Arreola backs up, which is not what he should be doing. Arreola reaches and misses with a right. Adamek clinches. Adamek jabs to the body. Tentative round by both fighters. Arreola misses with a right. Arreola fires three times to the body. Arreola moves in behind his jab. Adamek lands a right as does Arreola. A left lifts Adamek. Adamek jabs nicely. Adamek closes with a nice combination. Adamek's round, 10-9.
Round 2: Arreola still gives ground as Adamek paws with his jab. Arreola steps forward with his jab but they fall short. A left hook counters Adamek, and they trade right hands. Adamek's speed is apparent. Arreola tries and misses an overhand right over the jab. Arreola lands a nice right to the head, but Adamek comes back with his own. Adamek doubles on the jab. A nice, long right lands for Arreola, and another. Arreola's hard jab moves Adamek. The power of Arreola is apparent. Adamek lands a three-punch combination and moves away. A left hand by Arreola snaps back Adamek's head. Arreola's round, 10-9; Even, 19-19.
Round 3: Adamek stands his ground and lands three jabs. Adamek continues to out-speed Arreola, ending with a nice right to the body. Arreola lands one of two attempted jabs but takes a right. Arreola takes a one-two over his jab. Two jabs land for Arreola but Adamek moves away. Adamek's jab and a followup right land. Adamek clinches. A left lands for Adamek. Arreola is following. Arreola lands a left hook that moves Adamek, but Adamek gets off more. Arreola lands a nice left hook to the body, but Adamek, yet again, closes by out-working him with a three-punch combination. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 29-28.
Round 4: Adamek continues to get in and out, getting off and moving away. Arreola comes on with a nice right that may have hurt Adamek. Adamek takes another right hand. Adamek jabs and come with a three-punch combination. A nice right hand swivel's Arreola's head. A doluble-left hook lands for Adamek. Adamek is without his mouth piece, yet remains elusive. Adamek beats Arreola with a four-punch combination, but he takes three right hands before the bell, moving backward. Adamek may be shaken, even as he won the round. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 39-37.
Round 5: Adamek may be tempting fate by dropping his hands, even as Arreola's right eye is red and may be bleeding. Adamek continues to double and triple jab to the head and also to reach Arreola's body. Adamek wins an exchange against the slower Arreola. Adamek jabes twice but takes a right that forces him to clinch. Arreola clubs with two right hands that appear to hurt Adamek and have him trying to clinch. Adamek drives home a right cross but takes a left. Adamek clinches. Arreola's round, 10-9; Adamek 48-47.
Round 6: Adamek gets a respit as his corner is allowed about an extra minute to repair the sole of his apparently dislodged left shoe. Arreola presses, but Adamek moves away, jabbing as he goes. Adamek lands a one-two and escapes harm. A left hand lands for Arreola, who then, takes a three-punch combination. A right hand over the top lands for Adamek. There is a low blow warning given to Adamek. Adamek lands a left to the body and moves away. Referee says Arreola's left eye was cut by a head butt. Arreola steps up the pressure and lands through Adamek's combination, driving a right uppercut home in a neutral corner. Arreola's round, 10-9; Even, 57-57.
Round 7: Arreola's pressure is starting to pay off. Adamek peppers three shots to the body, but Arreola jabs and loads up and misses the right. A short left lands for Adamek, but he takes a right. Arreola's jab finds it's mark, as does a left over Adamek's left. A lull in the action. Arreola takes a left uppercut. Arreola may have given the round away based on inactivity, as Adamek closes strong. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 67-66.
Round 8: Adamek out-landed Arreola, 15-7, in round No. 7. Another clash of heads. Adamek fires a four-punch combination to the body and clinches. Adamek is out-landing Arreola, but not hurting him. He's simply out-working the larger man. A nice left-right jiggles Arreola's midsection. Arreola isn't getting off in close. Arreola jabs three times, missing twice, and also, failing to follow up with a right. Adamek is content to jab from a distance. A left hook lands for Adamek, as does a jab to the body. Inactivity, yet again, has allowed Adamek to pocket another round. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 77-75.
Round 9: Flurries and movement have given Adamek the edge over the larger man. Adamek takes a hard right early. He looks shaken, but he bravely continues to out-land Arreola, even though the blows are light but crisp. Another three-punch combination to the body by Adamek. Adamek clinches. Adamek jabs and moves away, then, lands an overhand right to the eye of Arreola. a nice jab to the body by Adamek, who then clinches. Adamek is simply out-boxing Arreola. Adamek's jab splits Arreola's guard. Arreola stops and stands in the final seconds, frustrated that Adamek won't stand and fight. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 87-84.
Round 10: Adamek has out-landed Arreola, 22-5, in power shots over the last three rounds. Arreola lands a solid hand that hurts Adamek. Another right hand shakes Adamek again. Referee warns for head butts. Adamek clinches. Still another right hand lands, forcing Adamek to clinch. Arreola winces as if he hurts his right hand and he backs off. arreola jabs and moves forward, landing a left-right combination. Arreola has stopped throwing the right hand,having hurt it on the top of Adamek's head. A jab lands for Arreola, but no right hand follow up is there. Adamek steps in and lands a right hand. Adamek fires a left and a right, but Arreola finally throws a left-right combination. Arreola's round, 10-9; Adamek, 96-94.
Round 11: Arreola shakes Adamek early with his right hand, pushing, apparently through the pain. Arreola has indicated to his corner that it is his right bicep, not his fist, that is hurting. Arreola catches Adamek with a right-left combination. A left hook lands for Arreola, who then backs off apparently in pain. Adamek steps in and lands to the body, but later, takes a left uppercut from Arreola. Adamek lands a three-punch combination. Arreola's right eye is cut, as is his left. Adamek surges late with a number of shots, and, enthusiastically raises his right hand skyward triumphantly. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 106-103.
Round 12: Adamek is on his bicycle to start the round and circles and jabs. Arreola lands a left, but Adamek fires a one-two over the top. Adamek digs three times to the body and clinches. Arreola can't catch the smaller man. A right hand over the top lands for Adamek, who then clinches. Adamek ducks under a right hand and clinches. Adamek fireds a right over the top and moves away. They clinch. Adamek will not engage over the final 28 seconds, even as Arreola beckons him forward. Bell sounds, both fighters raise their hands as if in victory. Adamek's round, 10-9; Adamek, 116-112.
ADAMEK WINS A MAJORITY DECISION, 117-111, 115-113, AND, 1114-114, RESPECTIVELY, ON THE CARDS OF JOE PASQUALE, BARRY DRUXMAN, AND, TONY CREBS.
FanHouse has it for Adamek, 116-112.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Adamek beats Arreola by majority decision in Ontario -- Los Angeles Daily News
By Robert Morales, Los Angeles Daily News
ONTARIO - Dan Goossen and Kathy Duva, the respective promoters of Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek, agreed this week that the loser of Saturday's showdown between the heavyweight contenders would not be out of the title picture.
But a victory was probably more necessary for Arreola than for Adamek because Arreola already lost one bid for a championship when he was stopped after 10 rounds by Vitali Klitschko last September.
Adamek could afford a loss more because the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion only had two heavyweight fights going in.
Well, after 12 thrilling rounds, Adamek won a majority decision, much to the chagrin of thousands of Arreola fans at Citizens Business Bank Arena who roundly booed the decision. Tony Crebbs scored it even, 114-114; Barry Druxman gave it to Adamek, 115-113; and Joseph Pasquale had Adamek winning, 117-111.
Arreola's face did appear more battered than Adamek's. He was also cut over the left eye with an accidental head-butt.
There were no knockdowns.
"I agree with the decision," Arreola said. "Adamek did what he wanted, I did what I wanted. I thought I had him in the fifth round (when he sent Adamek reeling with a stiff jab).
"He head-butted me a lot. I got buzzed by his head-butts. He beat me. I hurt my hand in the fifth round, my left hand. But I kept going. After the ninth or 10 th, I hurt it real bad again."
Adamek dedicated this fight to Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and several other of the country's high-ranking politicians who lost their lives in a plane crach April 10.
"This was for me the toughest fight I ever fight," said Adamek, who had hundreds of Polish fans in the stands. "This is why I believe I can be world champion."
Through nine rounds, the fight appeared very close, although Arreola had twice sent Adamek reeling with tremendous jabs.
Adamek (41-1) had fought plenty through six rounds, but he spent much of rounds 7, 8 and 9 running quite a bit. He landed punches, but his antics caused Arreola to stop and shake his head as if to say, 'Come on."
Arreola (28-2) came charging at Adamek in the 10 th and landed several hard punches to the head. An uppercut seemed to make Adamek's eyes go funny, but he stayed on his feet. Adamek fought back gallantly, but it was Arreola's round.
Arreola stunned Adamek again in the 11 th round, but Adamek - showing uncanny mettle - definitely won the second half of the round over an Arreola that appeared very tired.
At round's end, the hundreds of Polish fans and thousands of Arreola's fans cheered wildly as they were being treated to a rare spectacular fight in what used to be boxing's bread-and-butter division.
The first two rounds appeared very close, but Adamek seemed to be the clear winner in the third round. He would land a clean right cross, then quickly get out of harm's way. Adamek landed a couple of crisp jabs and a short left hook. Arreola countered with a right-left combination, but it was not enough to steal the round.
Arreola came back and seemed to win the fourth round, although it was close. He landed a couple of hard punches early in the round, but Adamek came back and landed three shots to the face of Arreola. Arreola was not fazed, but Adamek was boxing well.
Arreola sent Adamek reeling across the ring and into the ropes with a Larry Holmes-type left jab midway through the fifth round. Arreola went after Adamek, but wasn't able to do much more damage. Adamek, showing significant courage, came back in the tail end of the round to land a couple of solid blows.
Arreola again hurt Adamek with two telephone-pole jabs in the sixth, sending Adamek stumbling in reverse and Arreola's fans into a frenzy. Adamek, however, retailiated with a nice combination to the head.
Adamek was warned for hitting low in the round, and Arreola sustained a cut near his left eye as the result of an acccidental head-butt.
Arreola wasn't able to get much going in the seventh round and Adamek landed a clean left hook to the head. It didn't bother Arreola, but it scored.
robert.morales@presstelegram.com
Source: dailynews.com
ONTARIO - Dan Goossen and Kathy Duva, the respective promoters of Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek, agreed this week that the loser of Saturday's showdown between the heavyweight contenders would not be out of the title picture.
But a victory was probably more necessary for Arreola than for Adamek because Arreola already lost one bid for a championship when he was stopped after 10 rounds by Vitali Klitschko last September.
Adamek could afford a loss more because the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion only had two heavyweight fights going in.
Well, after 12 thrilling rounds, Adamek won a majority decision, much to the chagrin of thousands of Arreola fans at Citizens Business Bank Arena who roundly booed the decision. Tony Crebbs scored it even, 114-114; Barry Druxman gave it to Adamek, 115-113; and Joseph Pasquale had Adamek winning, 117-111.
Arreola's face did appear more battered than Adamek's. He was also cut over the left eye with an accidental head-butt.
There were no knockdowns.
"I agree with the decision," Arreola said. "Adamek did what he wanted, I did what I wanted. I thought I had him in the fifth round (when he sent Adamek reeling with a stiff jab).
"He head-butted me a lot. I got buzzed by his head-butts. He beat me. I hurt my hand in the fifth round, my left hand. But I kept going. After the ninth or 10 th, I hurt it real bad again."
Adamek dedicated this fight to Polish president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and several other of the country's high-ranking politicians who lost their lives in a plane crach April 10.
"This was for me the toughest fight I ever fight," said Adamek, who had hundreds of Polish fans in the stands. "This is why I believe I can be world champion."
Through nine rounds, the fight appeared very close, although Arreola had twice sent Adamek reeling with tremendous jabs.
Adamek (41-1) had fought plenty through six rounds, but he spent much of rounds 7, 8 and 9 running quite a bit. He landed punches, but his antics caused Arreola to stop and shake his head as if to say, 'Come on."
Arreola (28-2) came charging at Adamek in the 10 th and landed several hard punches to the head. An uppercut seemed to make Adamek's eyes go funny, but he stayed on his feet. Adamek fought back gallantly, but it was Arreola's round.
Arreola stunned Adamek again in the 11 th round, but Adamek - showing uncanny mettle - definitely won the second half of the round over an Arreola that appeared very tired.
At round's end, the hundreds of Polish fans and thousands of Arreola's fans cheered wildly as they were being treated to a rare spectacular fight in what used to be boxing's bread-and-butter division.
The first two rounds appeared very close, but Adamek seemed to be the clear winner in the third round. He would land a clean right cross, then quickly get out of harm's way. Adamek landed a couple of crisp jabs and a short left hook. Arreola countered with a right-left combination, but it was not enough to steal the round.
Arreola came back and seemed to win the fourth round, although it was close. He landed a couple of hard punches early in the round, but Adamek came back and landed three shots to the face of Arreola. Arreola was not fazed, but Adamek was boxing well.
Arreola sent Adamek reeling across the ring and into the ropes with a Larry Holmes-type left jab midway through the fifth round. Arreola went after Adamek, but wasn't able to do much more damage. Adamek, showing significant courage, came back in the tail end of the round to land a couple of solid blows.
Arreola again hurt Adamek with two telephone-pole jabs in the sixth, sending Adamek stumbling in reverse and Arreola's fans into a frenzy. Adamek, however, retailiated with a nice combination to the head.
Adamek was warned for hitting low in the round, and Arreola sustained a cut near his left eye as the result of an acccidental head-butt.
Arreola wasn't able to get much going in the seventh round and Adamek landed a clean left hook to the head. It didn't bother Arreola, but it scored.
robert.morales@presstelegram.com
Source: dailynews.com
Brähmer punishes Plotinsky -- FightNews
By Karl Freitag, FightNews.com
WBO light heavyweight world champion Jürgen Brähmer (36-2, 29 KOs) dominated #8 rated Mariano Nicolas Plotinsky (16-4, 8 KOs) and got the stoppage in round five on Saturday night’s “Universum Champions Night” event at the Sporthalle Hamburg. Brähmer floored Plotinsky at the end of round one and battered Pliotinky mercilessly until the bout was waved off by referee Paul Thomas at 2:36 of the fifth. It was Brähmer’s second successful world title defense.
In an all action female world title fight, undefeated WBA, WBO and WIBF flyweight champion “Killer Queen” Susi Kentikian (27-0, 16 KOs) won a controversial split decision over previously unbeaten WIBA titleholder Nadia “The Beauty Beast” Raoui (11-1-1, 3 KOs). Kentikian was ahead 96-94, 96-95 on two cards, Raoui was ahead 96-94 on the other card.
Amateur world champion “Golden Jack” Culcay moved to 3-0 with 2 KOs as a pro with an impressive first round demolition of late sub Sylvestre Marianini (8-22-3, 2 KOs) in a jr middleweight bout. A barrage of punches prompted the stoppage at 2:27.
Olympic gold medalist Rakhim Chakkiev (5-0, 5 KOs) continued his rapid rise with an explosive 82-second annihilation of Slavomir Selicky (15-7-1, 6 KOs) in a cruiserweight clash. Selicky was remained on the canvas some time.
In a shocker, journeyman jr middleweight Jurijs Boreiko (17-21-1, 13 KOs) stopped previouly unbeaten Arthur Matern (4-1, 3 KOs). Boreiko floored Matern hard at the end of round two and Matern remained on his stool when the next round began.
In a clash of heavyweight prospects, Christian Hammer (6-1, 3 KOs) won a six round unanimous decision over (6-2, 3 KOs) by scores 58-56, 59-57, 58-56.
Unbeaten welterweight Antonio Moscatiello (8-0, 7 KOs) needed just 71 seconds to demilish Yacine Medjou (4-5-2, 2 KOs).
Source: fightnews.com
WBO light heavyweight world champion Jürgen Brähmer (36-2, 29 KOs) dominated #8 rated Mariano Nicolas Plotinsky (16-4, 8 KOs) and got the stoppage in round five on Saturday night’s “Universum Champions Night” event at the Sporthalle Hamburg. Brähmer floored Plotinsky at the end of round one and battered Pliotinky mercilessly until the bout was waved off by referee Paul Thomas at 2:36 of the fifth. It was Brähmer’s second successful world title defense.
In an all action female world title fight, undefeated WBA, WBO and WIBF flyweight champion “Killer Queen” Susi Kentikian (27-0, 16 KOs) won a controversial split decision over previously unbeaten WIBA titleholder Nadia “The Beauty Beast” Raoui (11-1-1, 3 KOs). Kentikian was ahead 96-94, 96-95 on two cards, Raoui was ahead 96-94 on the other card.
Amateur world champion “Golden Jack” Culcay moved to 3-0 with 2 KOs as a pro with an impressive first round demolition of late sub Sylvestre Marianini (8-22-3, 2 KOs) in a jr middleweight bout. A barrage of punches prompted the stoppage at 2:27.
Olympic gold medalist Rakhim Chakkiev (5-0, 5 KOs) continued his rapid rise with an explosive 82-second annihilation of Slavomir Selicky (15-7-1, 6 KOs) in a cruiserweight clash. Selicky was remained on the canvas some time.
In a shocker, journeyman jr middleweight Jurijs Boreiko (17-21-1, 13 KOs) stopped previouly unbeaten Arthur Matern (4-1, 3 KOs). Boreiko floored Matern hard at the end of round two and Matern remained on his stool when the next round began.
In a clash of heavyweight prospects, Christian Hammer (6-1, 3 KOs) won a six round unanimous decision over (6-2, 3 KOs) by scores 58-56, 59-57, 58-56.
Unbeaten welterweight Antonio Moscatiello (8-0, 7 KOs) needed just 71 seconds to demilish Yacine Medjou (4-5-2, 2 KOs).
Source: fightnews.com
Kentikian Wins Highly Controversial Decision Over Raoui, Brähmer Dominates Plotinsky -- Eastside Boxing
Eastside Boxing
Susi Kentikian (27-0, 16 KOs) won a controversial split decision over Nadia Raoui (11-1-1, 3 KOs) at the Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany tonight. Kentikian was out punched and out landed in most of the rounds by Raoui's clean effective shots. The judges scored the fight 96-94, 96-95 for Kentikian and 96-94 for Raoui. East Side Boxing scored the fight 97-93 for Raoui.
WBO light heavyweight world champion Jürgen Brähmer (36-2, 29 KOs) stopped Nicolas Plotinsky (16-4, 8 KOs) in five rounds in the co-main event. Brähmer floored Plotinsky at the end of the first round and battered his completely overmatched opponent for the rest of the fight until the bout was waved off by referee Paul Thomas.
Jack Culcay improved his record to 3-0 with 2 KOs with a first round KO of Sylvestre Marianini (8-22-3, 2 KOs).
Olympic gold medalist Rakhim Chakhiev (5-0, 5 KOs) knocked out Slavomir Selicky (15-7-1, 6 KOs) in the first round.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Susi Kentikian (27-0, 16 KOs) won a controversial split decision over Nadia Raoui (11-1-1, 3 KOs) at the Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany tonight. Kentikian was out punched and out landed in most of the rounds by Raoui's clean effective shots. The judges scored the fight 96-94, 96-95 for Kentikian and 96-94 for Raoui. East Side Boxing scored the fight 97-93 for Raoui.
WBO light heavyweight world champion Jürgen Brähmer (36-2, 29 KOs) stopped Nicolas Plotinsky (16-4, 8 KOs) in five rounds in the co-main event. Brähmer floored Plotinsky at the end of the first round and battered his completely overmatched opponent for the rest of the fight until the bout was waved off by referee Paul Thomas.
Jack Culcay improved his record to 3-0 with 2 KOs with a first round KO of Sylvestre Marianini (8-22-3, 2 KOs).
Olympic gold medalist Rakhim Chakhiev (5-0, 5 KOs) knocked out Slavomir Selicky (15-7-1, 6 KOs) in the first round.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Adamek Gets Majority Win Over Arreola -- The Sweet Science
By Michael Woods, The Sweet Science
Another week, another reason to laud the judges. What a stunning streak they're on, seven days after they got it right in the Sergio Martinez-Kelly Pavlik rumble. After a tight main event between Cris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, Californa on Saturday night, the judges turned in cards of 114-114, 115-113, 117-111, and declared Adamek, decisively not the hometowner, the winner.
The Pole used a brain-based strategy, as he strafed Arreola, and hustled out of range as much as possible, enroute to the win. Adamek got buzzed sveral times, and the Arreola fans thought an edge in power shots would give their guy the nod.
Arreola (age 29; from Riverside, CA; 28-1 with 25 Kos entering) weighed 250 1/2 pounds, while Adamek (age 33; from Poland, living in New Jersey; ex light heavy and cruiserweight champion; 40-1 with 27 KOs entering) was 217.
Tony Crebs, Barry Druxman and Jerry Pasquale were the judges, and Jack Reiss was the referee in this HBO Boxing After Dark feature attraction.
In the first, we saw Adamek would be throwing jabs and following with rights to the soft midsection. A left hook touched Arreola, and then Arreola did the same. Adamek had Arreola looking a little tentative and backing up more than some would've expected. In the second, Adamek landed a combo and an Arreola counter scored. Movement worked for Adamek; he popped a jab, stepped left, rinse and repeat. In the third, Adamek's gameplan, get off, and get out, was on target. Adamek was buzzed early in the fourth, but he won the last three quarters. In the fifth, Adamek got wobbled with a minute left. Was being the smaller man getting to him? FYI The rubber sole on the bottom of Adamek's right boot was coming off, and was taped on after the round. Adamek's lack of bigtime pop in this weigh class hurt him by now, as Arreola just didn't fear the Pole's launches. Adamek got back in it in the seventh and eighth. Arreola showed frustration when the Pole scooted out of range, instead of tracking him down and bullying him. Harold Lederman saw it even through eight, while TSS-EM had Adamek ahead a few points. Side note: people think Arreola comes in too heavy, his people say yes he's big, but physique is overrated. I think he carries too much weight up top, that he's top heavy, and I think it affects his balance.
In the ninth, once again the absence of an Arreola effective jab stood out. At the end of the round, he pouted because Adamek wasn't standing and trading. Useless, and immature. The game is boxing, not fighting, and Adamek was outboxing Arreola, and he pouted, instead of tweaking his strategy, and upping his aggression. In the 10th, Arreola, his left eye swollen, hurt the Pole with a right. But then he threw it again, and winced. The ref asked him if he was OK, and he nodded yes. "We need these last two rounds," Arreola's corner told him. A right tickled the Pole to start the 11th. Adamek came back in the last two thirds, probably stealing it. Arreola's face looked a mess, as a cut dripped on the bridge of his nose. His corner asked him how his hand was, if he could go one more round, and he said yes. In the 12th, Adamek scored some combos, Arreola wanted that home run ball. No dice. We'd rely on the cards. Both men raised their hands, indicating a belief that they'd won. Lederman saw it 116-112, same card as mine.
The stats: 197-631 for Adamek, 127-532 for Arreola. "I'm faster, I'm smarter, and I win," he said in English. He said Arreola never hurt him. He said he wanted a title crack next, but didn't name a target. Arreola said the judges got it right, and admitted the Pole got the better of him. He said he hurt his left hand around the fifth. "He was the better fighter tonight and he fought his gameplan to perfection," the loser said.
In the TV opener, Alfredo "Perro: Angulo (17-1 entering; from Mexicali, Mexico, living in LA; age 27; 153 3/4, 167 tonight; ) met Colombian Joe Julio (age 25; 153 1/4, 166 tonight; ) in a defense of his WBO interim junior welterweight crown. Word was rampant coming in that Angulo was having waaay too much trouble making weight. He was almost two hours late for the weigh in, and blamed traffic for the tardiness. We would see how much energy he had in his tank, or if he wasn't fibbing when he said making weight was no large feat for him.
In the first, Perro came out warm, and winging it. Julio stayed in motion, moving to his left. He looked to drop a hook on the Mexican. Julio's jab didn't have much pop, so Angulo didn't fear stalking the challenger. Angulo clanged with a right cross at the 50 second mark, his best blow to that point. In the third, Julio boxed better. He was first more, and made Angulo back up some. The Colombian's confidence was soaring. The middle rounds unfolded much the same way. We wondered if Angulo could or would do a better job cutting off the ring, if Julio's energy would lag. Angulo was a step behind much of the time, but it's not as if Julio's ring generalship was so stellar that he'd necessarily be impressing the judges. Neither man impressed in the accuracy department, so who knows what the judges were seeing.
In the seventh, Julio kept the feet moving for the better part of the round. He ate the occasional right, but nothing he couldn't shrug off. In the ninth, a cut formed over Angulo's right eye. It came from a punch, for the record. Julio had a slice underneath his right eyebrow, but neither slice looked to be too worrisome. Angulo hustled more in the tenth, advancing quickly at Julio. A right hand in the 11th dropped Julio, and he stood up, but he was wobbly. Ref Raul Caiz waved the bout to a halt. The time of the stoppage was 1:39.
The finishing sequence: Angulo feinted a jab, Julio threw his own slow jab, and Angulo came over the top with a crackerjack right. It landed on the nose, mouth and chin.
Angulo went 167-880, a sad percentage, to Julio's 175-762, almost as bad.
Source: thesweetscience.com
Another week, another reason to laud the judges. What a stunning streak they're on, seven days after they got it right in the Sergio Martinez-Kelly Pavlik rumble. After a tight main event between Cris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, Californa on Saturday night, the judges turned in cards of 114-114, 115-113, 117-111, and declared Adamek, decisively not the hometowner, the winner.
The Pole used a brain-based strategy, as he strafed Arreola, and hustled out of range as much as possible, enroute to the win. Adamek got buzzed sveral times, and the Arreola fans thought an edge in power shots would give their guy the nod.
Arreola (age 29; from Riverside, CA; 28-1 with 25 Kos entering) weighed 250 1/2 pounds, while Adamek (age 33; from Poland, living in New Jersey; ex light heavy and cruiserweight champion; 40-1 with 27 KOs entering) was 217.
Tony Crebs, Barry Druxman and Jerry Pasquale were the judges, and Jack Reiss was the referee in this HBO Boxing After Dark feature attraction.
In the first, we saw Adamek would be throwing jabs and following with rights to the soft midsection. A left hook touched Arreola, and then Arreola did the same. Adamek had Arreola looking a little tentative and backing up more than some would've expected. In the second, Adamek landed a combo and an Arreola counter scored. Movement worked for Adamek; he popped a jab, stepped left, rinse and repeat. In the third, Adamek's gameplan, get off, and get out, was on target. Adamek was buzzed early in the fourth, but he won the last three quarters. In the fifth, Adamek got wobbled with a minute left. Was being the smaller man getting to him? FYI The rubber sole on the bottom of Adamek's right boot was coming off, and was taped on after the round. Adamek's lack of bigtime pop in this weigh class hurt him by now, as Arreola just didn't fear the Pole's launches. Adamek got back in it in the seventh and eighth. Arreola showed frustration when the Pole scooted out of range, instead of tracking him down and bullying him. Harold Lederman saw it even through eight, while TSS-EM had Adamek ahead a few points. Side note: people think Arreola comes in too heavy, his people say yes he's big, but physique is overrated. I think he carries too much weight up top, that he's top heavy, and I think it affects his balance.
In the ninth, once again the absence of an Arreola effective jab stood out. At the end of the round, he pouted because Adamek wasn't standing and trading. Useless, and immature. The game is boxing, not fighting, and Adamek was outboxing Arreola, and he pouted, instead of tweaking his strategy, and upping his aggression. In the 10th, Arreola, his left eye swollen, hurt the Pole with a right. But then he threw it again, and winced. The ref asked him if he was OK, and he nodded yes. "We need these last two rounds," Arreola's corner told him. A right tickled the Pole to start the 11th. Adamek came back in the last two thirds, probably stealing it. Arreola's face looked a mess, as a cut dripped on the bridge of his nose. His corner asked him how his hand was, if he could go one more round, and he said yes. In the 12th, Adamek scored some combos, Arreola wanted that home run ball. No dice. We'd rely on the cards. Both men raised their hands, indicating a belief that they'd won. Lederman saw it 116-112, same card as mine.
The stats: 197-631 for Adamek, 127-532 for Arreola. "I'm faster, I'm smarter, and I win," he said in English. He said Arreola never hurt him. He said he wanted a title crack next, but didn't name a target. Arreola said the judges got it right, and admitted the Pole got the better of him. He said he hurt his left hand around the fifth. "He was the better fighter tonight and he fought his gameplan to perfection," the loser said.
In the TV opener, Alfredo "Perro: Angulo (17-1 entering; from Mexicali, Mexico, living in LA; age 27; 153 3/4, 167 tonight; ) met Colombian Joe Julio (age 25; 153 1/4, 166 tonight; ) in a defense of his WBO interim junior welterweight crown. Word was rampant coming in that Angulo was having waaay too much trouble making weight. He was almost two hours late for the weigh in, and blamed traffic for the tardiness. We would see how much energy he had in his tank, or if he wasn't fibbing when he said making weight was no large feat for him.
In the first, Perro came out warm, and winging it. Julio stayed in motion, moving to his left. He looked to drop a hook on the Mexican. Julio's jab didn't have much pop, so Angulo didn't fear stalking the challenger. Angulo clanged with a right cross at the 50 second mark, his best blow to that point. In the third, Julio boxed better. He was first more, and made Angulo back up some. The Colombian's confidence was soaring. The middle rounds unfolded much the same way. We wondered if Angulo could or would do a better job cutting off the ring, if Julio's energy would lag. Angulo was a step behind much of the time, but it's not as if Julio's ring generalship was so stellar that he'd necessarily be impressing the judges. Neither man impressed in the accuracy department, so who knows what the judges were seeing.
In the seventh, Julio kept the feet moving for the better part of the round. He ate the occasional right, but nothing he couldn't shrug off. In the ninth, a cut formed over Angulo's right eye. It came from a punch, for the record. Julio had a slice underneath his right eyebrow, but neither slice looked to be too worrisome. Angulo hustled more in the tenth, advancing quickly at Julio. A right hand in the 11th dropped Julio, and he stood up, but he was wobbly. Ref Raul Caiz waved the bout to a halt. The time of the stoppage was 1:39.
The finishing sequence: Angulo feinted a jab, Julio threw his own slow jab, and Angulo came over the top with a crackerjack right. It landed on the nose, mouth and chin.
Angulo went 167-880, a sad percentage, to Julio's 175-762, almost as bad.
Source: thesweetscience.com
Angulo stops Julio in 11th round -- Associated Press
By GREG BEACHAM, The Associated Press
ONTARIO, Calif. — Alfredo "Perro" Angulo stopped Joel Julio with a right cross midway through the 11th round to retain the WBO interim 154-pound title Saturday night.
Angulo (18-1, 15 KOs) dramatically ended a highly competitive fight with one perfect blow to Julio's chin, sending his Colombian opponent tumbling to the canvas. Although Julio (35-4) shakily got back up and wanted to keep fighting, referee Raul Caiz stopped the bout at 1:39 of the 11th.
"Joel never hurt me," Angulo said. "I know he has power, but it is really hard to hit Perro."
Angulo earned his third straight victory after his only defeat against Kermit Cintron last May, while Julio lost for the third time in four bouts despite causing plenty of trouble for Angulo in a fight filled with damaging blows by both boxers.
Julio was furious afterward, saying Angulo was favored because he lives in California.
"I made a mistake, and I paid for it, but I was going to get up," Julio said, mistakenly claiming he was ahead on the judges' scorecards. "I would have fought on. There was only one more round. Angulo was tired. They stopped the fight too early. I don't like what's going on. I don't like it at all. They're doing this because I would have won by decision."
Angulo was narrowly ahead on all three judges' cards, and The Associated Press had Angulo leading 96-94 entering the 11th. The punch statistics were remarkably even, with Julio throwing 118 fewer punches but connecting with a higher percentage.
Angulo landed a big right hand in the second round for the fight's first damaging punch, but Julio put Angulo on his heels in a dominating third round. Angulo rallied even while Julio caused swelling near Angulo's right eye with a big left hook in the fifth.
Angulo was slightly more aggressive than the counterpunching Julio, consistently attacking and peppering the Colombian with combinations, including a nasty series of blows in the eighth round.
After Angulo opened a cut near Julio's right eye in the middle rounds, he repeatedly attempted to finish off Julio but was unsuccessful until Julio missed with a left hand that left him open for the final punch.
A day earlier, Angulo showed up nearly two hours late to the undercard weigh-in, receiving a hefty fine that went straight to Julio. Angulo still made weight with a quarter-pound to spare.
"I care about the fight, not the money," Angulo said. "All that's important is that I perform and win for people who came to see Perro."
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Source: google.com
ONTARIO, Calif. — Alfredo "Perro" Angulo stopped Joel Julio with a right cross midway through the 11th round to retain the WBO interim 154-pound title Saturday night.
Angulo (18-1, 15 KOs) dramatically ended a highly competitive fight with one perfect blow to Julio's chin, sending his Colombian opponent tumbling to the canvas. Although Julio (35-4) shakily got back up and wanted to keep fighting, referee Raul Caiz stopped the bout at 1:39 of the 11th.
"Joel never hurt me," Angulo said. "I know he has power, but it is really hard to hit Perro."
Angulo earned his third straight victory after his only defeat against Kermit Cintron last May, while Julio lost for the third time in four bouts despite causing plenty of trouble for Angulo in a fight filled with damaging blows by both boxers.
Julio was furious afterward, saying Angulo was favored because he lives in California.
"I made a mistake, and I paid for it, but I was going to get up," Julio said, mistakenly claiming he was ahead on the judges' scorecards. "I would have fought on. There was only one more round. Angulo was tired. They stopped the fight too early. I don't like what's going on. I don't like it at all. They're doing this because I would have won by decision."
Angulo was narrowly ahead on all three judges' cards, and The Associated Press had Angulo leading 96-94 entering the 11th. The punch statistics were remarkably even, with Julio throwing 118 fewer punches but connecting with a higher percentage.
Angulo landed a big right hand in the second round for the fight's first damaging punch, but Julio put Angulo on his heels in a dominating third round. Angulo rallied even while Julio caused swelling near Angulo's right eye with a big left hook in the fifth.
Angulo was slightly more aggressive than the counterpunching Julio, consistently attacking and peppering the Colombian with combinations, including a nasty series of blows in the eighth round.
After Angulo opened a cut near Julio's right eye in the middle rounds, he repeatedly attempted to finish off Julio but was unsuccessful until Julio missed with a left hand that left him open for the final punch.
A day earlier, Angulo showed up nearly two hours late to the undercard weigh-in, receiving a hefty fine that went straight to Julio. Angulo still made weight with a quarter-pound to spare.
"I care about the fight, not the money," Angulo said. "All that's important is that I perform and win for people who came to see Perro."
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Source: google.com
Adamek earns majority decision over Arreola -- Associated Press
By GREG BEACHAM, The Associated Press
ONTARIO, Calif. — Not even 12 rounds of bone-crunching punches from Chris Arreola could knock Tomasz Adamek off his path to a heavyweight title shot.
And along the way, Adamek and Arreola might have punched a little life back into the heavyweight division.
Adamek overcame Arreola's power and size advantage to win his 10th straight fight Saturday night, earning a majority decision in Arreola's backyard.
Although Adamek (41-1, 27 KOs) repeatedly was staggered by Arreola, who weighed 33 1/2 pounds more than the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight, Adamek rallied with smarter strategy and punching flurries that left Arreola's eyes and face swollen and discolored by the final bell. Hundreds of fans from Adamek's native Poland cheered the decision, while Arreola's fans booed — even while Arreola said he agreed with the judges.
"This was for me the toughest fight I ever fought," said Adamek, who reluctantly crossed the nation from New Jersey for this high-risk showdown. "This is why I believe I can be world champion."
Adamek lost his WBC light heavyweight title to Chad Dawson in 2007 before moving to cruiserweight and then to heavyweight, where he hopes to earn a date with one of the Klitschko brothers.
A rematch with Arreola could be an easy sell to the fans who filled Citizens Bank Business Arena with raucous cheers amid flags of Poland and Mexico. Competitive heavyweight bouts have become a rarity, yet these fighters showcased the thrill of an even matchup in boxing's erstwhile glamour division.
Arreola (28-2), from nearby Riverside, appeared to be close to stopping Adamek in the middle rounds, but hurt his left hand twice. Adamek, who scoffed at the notion he was in trouble, was more aggressive and accurate in the final rounds.
Judge Barry Druxman scored the fight 115-113 for Adamek, while Joseph Pasquale favored him 117-111. Judge Tony Crebs and The Associated Press scored it a 114-114 draw.
Adamek threw 99 more punches than Arreola and connected with a larger percentage, also throwing more power shots. Although Arreola's power seemed more damaging, Arreola's swollen face indicated Adamek had done plenty of damage himself.
Despite repeatedly bringing his home fans to their feet, Arreola lost in his second bout since getting stopped by Vitali Klitschko in his first world title shot last September.
"Adamek did what he wanted, and I did what I wanted," Arreola said. "I thought I had him in the fifth round. He head-butted me a lot. I got buzzed by his head butts. He beat me. He did what he wanted to do in the ring. I hurt my hand in the fifth round, but I kept going."
Although Adamek weighed in at 217 next to the 251 1/2-pound Arreola on Thursday, he claimed the size discrepancy would make no difference. He pointed out that if he hopes to win a heavyweight title, he must fight bigger men — even if he has to do it on the other side of the country from Newark, N.J., where he draws thousands of fans to his bouts at the Prudential Center.
Yet Arreola's power clearly impressed Adamek in the first two rounds, and Adamek replied with speed and counterpunching. Arreola kept pressing forward and eventually rocked Adamek with a series of blows in the fifth round, starting with a nasty jab. Arreola hurt Adamek with a big left hand in the sixth, but Arreola also appeared to get cut in a clash of heads.
With both of his eyes swelling, Arreola finally caught up to Adamek in the 10th, repeatedly staggering Adamek backward with combinations. But Arreola got out of trouble and did impressive work in the final two rounds to earn the win.
Although Adamek's camp heard tales of fans stuck in Europe by Iceland's volcanic eruption, several hundred Polish fans followed Adamek to suburban Los Angeles, most dressed in red-and-white shirts and scarves. Arreola's fans booed whenever the Polish fans sang their national anthem or began an organized cheer, and Adamek's supporters responded similarly.
Yet the arena observed a ceremonial 10-count in honor of Polish president Lech Kaczynski, who died along with his wife and 94 others in a plane crash two weeks ago. Adamek had dedicated the fight to their memory.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Source: google.com
ONTARIO, Calif. — Not even 12 rounds of bone-crunching punches from Chris Arreola could knock Tomasz Adamek off his path to a heavyweight title shot.
And along the way, Adamek and Arreola might have punched a little life back into the heavyweight division.
Adamek overcame Arreola's power and size advantage to win his 10th straight fight Saturday night, earning a majority decision in Arreola's backyard.
Although Adamek (41-1, 27 KOs) repeatedly was staggered by Arreola, who weighed 33 1/2 pounds more than the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight, Adamek rallied with smarter strategy and punching flurries that left Arreola's eyes and face swollen and discolored by the final bell. Hundreds of fans from Adamek's native Poland cheered the decision, while Arreola's fans booed — even while Arreola said he agreed with the judges.
"This was for me the toughest fight I ever fought," said Adamek, who reluctantly crossed the nation from New Jersey for this high-risk showdown. "This is why I believe I can be world champion."
Adamek lost his WBC light heavyweight title to Chad Dawson in 2007 before moving to cruiserweight and then to heavyweight, where he hopes to earn a date with one of the Klitschko brothers.
A rematch with Arreola could be an easy sell to the fans who filled Citizens Bank Business Arena with raucous cheers amid flags of Poland and Mexico. Competitive heavyweight bouts have become a rarity, yet these fighters showcased the thrill of an even matchup in boxing's erstwhile glamour division.
Arreola (28-2), from nearby Riverside, appeared to be close to stopping Adamek in the middle rounds, but hurt his left hand twice. Adamek, who scoffed at the notion he was in trouble, was more aggressive and accurate in the final rounds.
Judge Barry Druxman scored the fight 115-113 for Adamek, while Joseph Pasquale favored him 117-111. Judge Tony Crebs and The Associated Press scored it a 114-114 draw.
Adamek threw 99 more punches than Arreola and connected with a larger percentage, also throwing more power shots. Although Arreola's power seemed more damaging, Arreola's swollen face indicated Adamek had done plenty of damage himself.
Despite repeatedly bringing his home fans to their feet, Arreola lost in his second bout since getting stopped by Vitali Klitschko in his first world title shot last September.
"Adamek did what he wanted, and I did what I wanted," Arreola said. "I thought I had him in the fifth round. He head-butted me a lot. I got buzzed by his head butts. He beat me. He did what he wanted to do in the ring. I hurt my hand in the fifth round, but I kept going."
Although Adamek weighed in at 217 next to the 251 1/2-pound Arreola on Thursday, he claimed the size discrepancy would make no difference. He pointed out that if he hopes to win a heavyweight title, he must fight bigger men — even if he has to do it on the other side of the country from Newark, N.J., where he draws thousands of fans to his bouts at the Prudential Center.
Yet Arreola's power clearly impressed Adamek in the first two rounds, and Adamek replied with speed and counterpunching. Arreola kept pressing forward and eventually rocked Adamek with a series of blows in the fifth round, starting with a nasty jab. Arreola hurt Adamek with a big left hand in the sixth, but Arreola also appeared to get cut in a clash of heads.
With both of his eyes swelling, Arreola finally caught up to Adamek in the 10th, repeatedly staggering Adamek backward with combinations. But Arreola got out of trouble and did impressive work in the final two rounds to earn the win.
Although Adamek's camp heard tales of fans stuck in Europe by Iceland's volcanic eruption, several hundred Polish fans followed Adamek to suburban Los Angeles, most dressed in red-and-white shirts and scarves. Arreola's fans booed whenever the Polish fans sang their national anthem or began an organized cheer, and Adamek's supporters responded similarly.
Yet the arena observed a ceremonial 10-count in honor of Polish president Lech Kaczynski, who died along with his wife and 94 others in a plane crash two weeks ago. Adamek had dedicated the fight to their memory.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Source: google.com
Kelly Pavlik and the Hard Road of Boxing -- SecondsOut
By Thomas Hauser, SecondsOut.com
Most professional fighters have struggled with demons. That’s one of the things that impelled them to become fighters. They’re faced with the constant reality of being punched by men trained in the art of hurting. And if a fighter becomes The Man, it seems as though everyone wants a piece of him.
Kelly Pavlik has been a fighter through much of his childhood and all of his adult life. No matter how many challenges he confronts in and out of the ring, there’s always another dragon to slay on fight night.
Pavlik moved into the spotlight three years ago when he knocked out Edison Miranda in seven rounds. On September 29, 2007, he duplicated that feat against Jermain Taylor to become middleweight champion of the world. A victorious rematch against Taylor and third-round demolition of mandatory challenger Gary Lockett followed.
Pavlik was the pride of Youngstown, Ohio. There was talk of his being the successor to Arturo Gatti as Atlantic City’s flagship fighter. But boxing is an insecure business. There’s no such thing as security in boxing.
On October 18, 2008, Pavlik went up in weight to fight Bernard Hopkins. If he’d won, it would have elevated him to superstar status. Instead, he suffered the first loss of his career. And even though he was still middleweight champion of the world, things weren’t quite the same.
In most sports, an athlete can lose and come all the way back within a short time frame. Boxing is different. Every loss impacts significantly on a fighter’s career.
Pavlik’s first fight after losing to Hopkins was in Youngstown against Marco Antonio Rubio on February 21, 2009. The Chevrolet Centre was sold out.
“That’s the first time I ever saw Kelly nervous before a fight,” Michael Cox (a Youngstown police officer, who’s Pavlik’s friend and one of his cornermen) said afterward. “He didn’t want to disappoint all those people and he knew that he needed to put on a dominating performance.”
Pavlik knocked Rubio out in nine rounds.
Promoter Bob Arum wanted Kelly’s next fight to be in Cleveland. But the eight-percent city tax on top of a five-percent state athletic commission tax made that impractical. Thus, Arum began planning for a June 27th date in Atlantic City against Sergio Mora.
But there was a problem. Pavlik’s promotional contract with Top Rank ran until May 31, 2010. One of the clauses provided that, if Kelly won a world championship, Top Rank would be entitled to promote his next five fights. The Pavlik camp took the position that, once those five fights were held, the contract would terminate even if that occurred before May 31, 2010. Pavlik-Mora would be Kelly’s fifth fight subsequent to winning the title.
Arum said that Team Pavlik’s interpretation of the contract was ridiculous. Moreover, he maintained that he was entitled to a seven-month contract extension (through December 31, 2010) because of time that Kelly had been unable to fight due to injury.
Pavlik-Mora fell through. Then Kelly signed a contract extension that unites him with Top Rank through May 2011. After that, Arum closed a deal for an early-October bout between Pavlik and Paul Williams, but a staph infection that began in Kelly’s left hand forced postponement of Pavlik-Williams until December 5, 2009.
Even then, Pavlik-Williams was in doubt. At a September 29th press conference announcing the new date, dead skin was flaking off Kelly’s hand. Eventually, the fight was canceled. That led to the sort of bombastic idiocy that plagues boxing; to wit, claims that Pavlik was ducking Williams. The truth was more serious than that.
In early March, while Kelly was playing basketball, the skin over a knuckle on his left hand (where he’d received a cortisone injection several months earlier) burst and began oozing pus. A doctor prescribed antibiotics, but the infection persisted, even after surgery to clean the area out. Further tests revealed the presence of MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), a sometimes fatal infection that resists most antibiotics.
Pavlik was given new medication and had an allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics, which coincided with an overdue visit to a hand specialist in Cleveland.
“As he was looking at me,” Kelly later recalled, “I got the shakes and the shivers and I started swelling up. My face was turning purple. The doctor said, ‘Look, we’ll worry about the hand afterward. Go upstairs to the infectious specialist now.’”
Kelly’s temperature rose to 104.5 degrees. His heart rate was 150 beats per minute. His blood pressure was rapidly dropping.
Kelly was hospitalized for four days. After two surgeries on his left hand, he needed physical therapy to regain full use of his finger.
“The kid was injured,” Arum said afterward. “He couldn’t make a fist. It wasn’t some fear of Paul Williams. To hear morons talk like that when they have no basis for what they’re saying really makes me sad.”
But in Youngstown, Pavlik isn’t just a regular guy. If he’d left home and moved to a large urban area where he isn’t a local hero, he could enjoy relative anonymity. Loyalty to and a comfort level with Youngstown have kept him where he is. That makes him a standard bearer for the entire city and a packhorse for other people’s hopes and dreams.
The media acknowledges few boundaries and shows little respect in covering an athlete’s personal life. Nobody dissects the private lives of sports writers. Nobody writes about how many drinks a reporter had at the bar before filing his story or how many pancakes an overweight scribe ate at breakfast.
“It’s been a tough year,” Mike Pavlik said as 2009 drew to a close. “First, Kelly had his health problems. Then there was a turn in the way some of the newspapers wrote about him. There were a lot of rumors. We went day to day, not knowing what to expect. I don’t care that much about the boxing part of it. I’ve come to understand that the boxing business is a terrible business. It’s the selling of human flesh. People don’t even care about what you’ve done for them lately. It’s all about what you can do for them now. I don’t care that much about what other people say. But I care a lot about Kelly’s feelings and the young man inside.”
“It has been a hard summer and fall; for Kelly and for all of us,” Mike Cox added. “It’s very hard to watch someone you care about have to struggle and go through this craziness. The rumors and stories got completely out of control.”
“I honestly wouldn’t wish fame on anybody,” Kelly said. “There are a lot of perks that come with it. I’m well aware of that and I’m thankful for it. But there’s a lot of bad and a lot of stress that comes with fame, too.”
On December 19th, Pavlik returned to the ring and scored a fifth-round knockout over journeyman Miguel Espino in Youngstown. That raised his record to 36-and-1 with 32 knockouts.
Then Kelly made a decision to address some of the personal issues in his life.
Many fighters don’t take care of themselves the way they should. They train for eight weeks and then, between fights, let themselves go. But the work ethic of a good fighter is far more demanding than the work ethic required of most conscientious men and women. And that work ethic extends to a fighter’s lifestyle. He might fight as few as two or three times a year. But the truly great fighters are always on the job. The demands of their trade would overwhelm ordinary people.
“I realized that I’d worked too hard for too long and come too far to let it all slip away from me,” Kelly said. “I decided to do what I had to do to make things right.”
On April 17th in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Pavlik’s journey through boxing placed him in the spotlight again; this time against Sergio Martinez.
The 35-year-old Martinez is a remarkable phenomenon. Born in Argentina, he moved to Spain and now lives in Oxnard, California. The first time he stepped into a boxing gym, he was 20 years old. Two years later, he turned pro.
Over the years, Martinez had compiled a 44-2-2 record with 24 knockouts. The blemishes on his ledger are deceiving. One of the draws came 12 years ago in Sergio’s third pro fight. The other was last year against Kermit Cintron in a bout that virtually everyone in attendance thought he won.
As for the losses, Martinez was stopped by Antonio Margarito ten years ago. And last December, he was on the short end of a majority decision after a hotly-contested encounter with Paul Williams. No less an authority than Kelly Pavlik thought that Sergio won that fight.
Pavlik-Martinez was a crossroads bout for both men and Kelly’s first big test since losing to Hopkins. Sergio was confident, ready, and strong; a superbly-conditioned athlete; fast with a solid chin, and a southpaw to boot.
“Kelly will have to be at his best to beat Martinez,” Jack Loew (Pavlik’s trainer) said. “And he will be. Ever since we signed for this fight, I’ve heard people say that Martinez is the wrong style for us. He’s too fast; he’s a left-hander. Let me tell you; Kelly hits harder than anyone Martinez has ever fought. And Kelly has never lost to a lefthander; not in the amateurs or the pros. I don’t care what Martinez does. He doesn’t have enough to beat us.”
“Southpaws that move are tough,” Pavlik acknowledged. “Martinez is a dangerous fighter. But a lot of the time, he’s off-balance. He leaves himself open to get hit. And he’s not as fast as people think he is.”
Pavlik looked good in the days leading up to the fight. There was a glow about him that hadn’t been there since his first outing against Jermain Taylor almost three years ago. He’d been eating better than ever before; no red meat, very little fat. Even his voice sounded different.
“This is a huge fight for me to prove a lot of things to a lot of people,” Kelly said.
The belief was that he’d done what he had to do outside the ring to get back on track in it.
“Kelly has been very motivated and focused,” Michael Cox said. “He really dedicated himself in training camp. There was no complaining. He did everything he had to do. He knows that his star has fallen, and he’s determined to make the next part of his career even better than the first part. He’s aware that, the same way the Miranda fight set the stage for what followed, this fight will go a long way toward determining what happens in the next part of his career.”
“Kelly fought so hard for so long that it took a lot out of him,” Mike Pavlik added. “The last few months, I’ve see a burning desire in him that I hadn’t seen in a while. He wants to fight again.”
Pavlik arrived at Boardwalk Hall and entered his dressing room at 8:30 on Saturday night. The arena was the scene of his greatest triumph (seizing the championship from Jermain Taylor) and also his loss to Bernard Hopkins.
The members of Team Pavlik unpacked their bags. No one had brought Kelly’s socks. There was a call to the hotel, asking a friend to bring them over.
Light conversation between Kelly, his father, and Jack Loew followed. The Cleveland Browns and the upcoming National Football League draft were the first subject of discussion.
“I don’t think they gave [recently traded quarterback] Brady Quinn a fair chance,” Mike Pavlik offered.
“He had nothing to work with,” Loew added.
The conversation turned to Tiger Woods.
“I thought sex therapy was to teach you how to do it; not how to stop…There’s a new DVD out. Tiger Woods talks about his best 18 holes.”
HBO production coordinator Tami Cotel came into the room and asked if she could check Kelly’s weight on an HBO scale. At three o’clock the previous afternoon, each fighter had weighed-in officially at 159-1/2 pounds. Martinez now weighed 167. Kelly stepped on the scale. Since the weigh-in, he’d gained 18 pounds.
The conversation resumed. Kelly fired a series of one-liners about a Youngstown legend named Bear Cabelli, who has a reputation for being tougher than the average guy.
“Bear Cabelli is so tough that he sleeps with a pillow under his gun…Bear Cabelli is so tough that he won a stare down with the sun…Bear Cabelli is so tough that he slammed a revolving door shut…Bear Cabelli is so tough that he killed two stones with one bird…When Bear Cabelli puts milk on his Rice Krispies, he’s so scary that Snap, Crackle, and Pop shut the f**k up.”
Loew began taping his fighter’s hands. When he was done, Kelly did some light stretching exercises and shadow-boxed briefly in the center of the room.
There was a quiet moment.
“How do you feel?” Mike Pavlik asked his son.
“Good.”
At ten o’clock, Kelly put on his trunks, socks, and shoes. Top Rank photographer Chris Farina, who was in the room, memorialized the moment.
“I’m glad I’m not a fighter,” Mike said. “I don’t want anyone taking photos of me when I’m getting dressed.”
Referee David Fields came in and gave Kelly his pre-fight instructions.
At 10:22, Lucian Bute vs. Edison Miranda (HBO’s first televised fight of the evening) began. Miranda is a different fighter from what he was when he fought Pavlik. Back then, the Colombian was a feared and ferocious puncher. A disputed loss to Arthur Abraham was the only blot on his record. He has now lost five of his last 12 fights.
All eyes turned toward a television monitor in a corner of the room.
“Miranda is shot,” Jack Loew said.
“He doesn’t even fight back anymore,” Mike noted.
Round one ended. Loew began gloving Kelly up.
Kelly kept an eye on the television monitor. “Bute is a sneaky fighter,” he said. “And he’s a good body puncher.”
Miranda was knocked out in the third round.
Loew warmed Kelly up on the pads.
“Remember, back him up…Tight punches…Don’t reach with the right hand…He might come out firing to make a point. If he does, fire back…If he turns, turn with him…That’s it…Be patient. You’ll catch him.”
Then it was time for battle. “What’s meant to be will be,” Mike Pavlik said.
Every fight is a self-contained drama. Pavlik-Martinez played out in three distinct acts.
Rounds one through four saw Sergio circling elusively, darting in and out as Kelly moved forward. During those rounds, Martinez out-landed Pavlik 61-to-38 and opened a small cut on Kelly’s left eyelid. It was not unlike a matador sticking banderillas into a bull.
In round five, the tide turned. Pavlik had kept the pressure on and it started to pay dividends. Over the four middle rounds, he out-landed Martinez 75-to-57, punctuated by a right hand to the top of the head in round seven that put Sergio down. It was more of a balance shot than a hurting one. Still, it gave Kelly a 10-8 round. After eight stanzas, he was ahead by a point and had taken control of the fight.
In round nine, Martinez regained control. A straight left-hand opened a gash over Pavlik’s right eye. Sergio was all over him like a swarm of bees.
From that point on, the challenger put a beating on the champion. Kelly’s face was a gory mask with blood streaming down both cheeks. Over the final four rounds, he absorbed 112 punches while landing only 51.
This writer scored it 115-112 in favor of Martinez. The three judges turned in similar cards.
Sergio fought a magnificent fight. But several self-inflicted wounds contributed to Kelly’s defeat.
First, Pavlik didn’t use his advantage in weight as effectively as he could have. He was neglectful of Martinez’s body for long periods of time and was too passive when he got in close. He should have leaned on Sergio, pumped punches into his side, and roughed him up. Instead, he landed only 22 body blows.
Second, Kelly tired down the stretch. Part of that was due to the demands of the fight. And part of it was because, while he worked hard and lived a disciplined life in the months leading up to April 17th, Martinez had worked hard and lived a disciplined life in the years leading up to the fight. There’s a difference.
If a fighter hasn’t taken care of his body properly for several years, he can’t put everything together in three-and-a-half months. Not if he’s fighting Sergio Martinez.
There was a rematch clause in Kelly’s contract for the fight. If he chooses to exercise it, in order to beat Martinez, he has to use the conditioning that he has developed so far, this year, as a platform to build on. He can’t backslide and start over again from square one.
A better cutman would also help. For most of Kelly’s career, Miguel Diaz was in his corner. But according to a source in the Pavlik camp, Diaz demanded excessive fees for fights after Pavlik-Hopkins. That and a reported personality conflict led to Miguel being let go. There are other excellent cutmen in boxing. Sid Brumback (who was in Pavlik’s corner against Martinez) has not yet proven himself to be one of them.
Against Martinez, the cutwork in Kelly’s corner was ineffective and the flow of blood was a factor. A big one.
“I was having a hard time seeing,” Pavlik said in his dressing room after the fight.”
Kelly was sitting on the same chair he’d been on a little more than an hour earlier when Jack Loew gloved him up.
His body was streaked with blood.
Mike Pavlik stood by his son. The preceding hour had been particularly painful for Mike. He hadn’t just watched Kelly lose an athletic competition. He’d seen his son get beaten up.
Kelly bowed his head.
“Sh*t! I hate losing.”
“It’s part of the game,” Mike said. “Nobody stays champion forever.”
“A f**king punching bag. That’s what I was tonight.”
“I’m still proud of you.”
Kelly shook his head.
“For eight rounds, I fought a good fight. The last four rounds, I was a f**king punching bag. They should have put ‘Everlast’ on my forehead.”
“Not many people in history have been middleweight champion of the world,” Mike told his son. “Hold your head high.”
One at a time, family members and friends came over to Kelly, offering hugs and words of consolation. Then he rose from his chair, dressed without showering, and started for the door with Mike at his side.
“I’m going to the hospital to get sewn up,” he said. “I’ll see you guys back at the hotel.”
Thomas Hauser can be reached by e-mail at thauser@rcn.com. His most recent book (“An Unforgiving Sport”) was published by the University of Arkansas Press.
Source: secondsout.com
Most professional fighters have struggled with demons. That’s one of the things that impelled them to become fighters. They’re faced with the constant reality of being punched by men trained in the art of hurting. And if a fighter becomes The Man, it seems as though everyone wants a piece of him.
Kelly Pavlik has been a fighter through much of his childhood and all of his adult life. No matter how many challenges he confronts in and out of the ring, there’s always another dragon to slay on fight night.Pavlik moved into the spotlight three years ago when he knocked out Edison Miranda in seven rounds. On September 29, 2007, he duplicated that feat against Jermain Taylor to become middleweight champion of the world. A victorious rematch against Taylor and third-round demolition of mandatory challenger Gary Lockett followed.
Pavlik was the pride of Youngstown, Ohio. There was talk of his being the successor to Arturo Gatti as Atlantic City’s flagship fighter. But boxing is an insecure business. There’s no such thing as security in boxing.On October 18, 2008, Pavlik went up in weight to fight Bernard Hopkins. If he’d won, it would have elevated him to superstar status. Instead, he suffered the first loss of his career. And even though he was still middleweight champion of the world, things weren’t quite the same.
In most sports, an athlete can lose and come all the way back within a short time frame. Boxing is different. Every loss impacts significantly on a fighter’s career.
Pavlik’s first fight after losing to Hopkins was in Youngstown against Marco Antonio Rubio on February 21, 2009. The Chevrolet Centre was sold out.
“That’s the first time I ever saw Kelly nervous before a fight,” Michael Cox (a Youngstown police officer, who’s Pavlik’s friend and one of his cornermen) said afterward. “He didn’t want to disappoint all those people and he knew that he needed to put on a dominating performance.”
Pavlik knocked Rubio out in nine rounds.
Promoter Bob Arum wanted Kelly’s next fight to be in Cleveland. But the eight-percent city tax on top of a five-percent state athletic commission tax made that impractical. Thus, Arum began planning for a June 27th date in Atlantic City against Sergio Mora.
But there was a problem. Pavlik’s promotional contract with Top Rank ran until May 31, 2010. One of the clauses provided that, if Kelly won a world championship, Top Rank would be entitled to promote his next five fights. The Pavlik camp took the position that, once those five fights were held, the contract would terminate even if that occurred before May 31, 2010. Pavlik-Mora would be Kelly’s fifth fight subsequent to winning the title.
Arum said that Team Pavlik’s interpretation of the contract was ridiculous. Moreover, he maintained that he was entitled to a seven-month contract extension (through December 31, 2010) because of time that Kelly had been unable to fight due to injury.
Pavlik-Mora fell through. Then Kelly signed a contract extension that unites him with Top Rank through May 2011. After that, Arum closed a deal for an early-October bout between Pavlik and Paul Williams, but a staph infection that began in Kelly’s left hand forced postponement of Pavlik-Williams until December 5, 2009.
Even then, Pavlik-Williams was in doubt. At a September 29th press conference announcing the new date, dead skin was flaking off Kelly’s hand. Eventually, the fight was canceled. That led to the sort of bombastic idiocy that plagues boxing; to wit, claims that Pavlik was ducking Williams. The truth was more serious than that.
In early March, while Kelly was playing basketball, the skin over a knuckle on his left hand (where he’d received a cortisone injection several months earlier) burst and began oozing pus. A doctor prescribed antibiotics, but the infection persisted, even after surgery to clean the area out. Further tests revealed the presence of MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), a sometimes fatal infection that resists most antibiotics.
Pavlik was given new medication and had an allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics, which coincided with an overdue visit to a hand specialist in Cleveland.
“As he was looking at me,” Kelly later recalled, “I got the shakes and the shivers and I started swelling up. My face was turning purple. The doctor said, ‘Look, we’ll worry about the hand afterward. Go upstairs to the infectious specialist now.’”Kelly’s temperature rose to 104.5 degrees. His heart rate was 150 beats per minute. His blood pressure was rapidly dropping.
"I’m not a medical man," Mike Pavlik (Kelly’s father) said afterward. “But he was really close to the edge that day."
Kelly was hospitalized for four days. After two surgeries on his left hand, he needed physical therapy to regain full use of his finger.
“The kid was injured,” Arum said afterward. “He couldn’t make a fist. It wasn’t some fear of Paul Williams. To hear morons talk like that when they have no basis for what they’re saying really makes me sad.”
Meanwhile, the once-adoring local media was turning on Pavlik. In today’s culture, athletes lose their privacy. Some, like Floyd Mayweather Jr., revel in that and act in a way that’s calculated to make their personal life a public spectacle. Others, like Kelly, don’t. They just want to be regular guys.
But in Youngstown, Pavlik isn’t just a regular guy. If he’d left home and moved to a large urban area where he isn’t a local hero, he could enjoy relative anonymity. Loyalty to and a comfort level with Youngstown have kept him where he is. That makes him a standard bearer for the entire city and a packhorse for other people’s hopes and dreams.
Larry Holmes (another fighter who stayed close to home) recently noted, “Fighters are human beings. Just because we’re fighters doesn’t mean that we don’t have feelings. And sometimes, people forget that.”
But in Pavlik’s case, there were reports of heavy drinking and blaring headlines in The Vindicator (Kelly’s hometown newspaper): “Pavlik Fights Off Rumors About His Personal Life,” one headline read. Among the rumors: “Pavlik was pulled over for a DUI. He was arrested for carrying a gun. He stabbed someone.”
As Kevin Iole wrote on Yahoo.com, “The rumor mill has worked overtime in Youngstown. Pavlik’s career has taken a hit. A whisper campaign has suggested that he’s hanging with the wrong crowd; that he’s on the verge of financial collapse.”
“It’s been a tough year,” Mike Pavlik said as 2009 drew to a close. “First, Kelly had his health problems. Then there was a turn in the way some of the newspapers wrote about him. There were a lot of rumors. We went day to day, not knowing what to expect. I don’t care that much about the boxing part of it. I’ve come to understand that the boxing business is a terrible business. It’s the selling of human flesh. People don’t even care about what you’ve done for them lately. It’s all about what you can do for them now. I don’t care that much about what other people say. But I care a lot about Kelly’s feelings and the young man inside.” “It has been a hard summer and fall; for Kelly and for all of us,” Mike Cox added. “It’s very hard to watch someone you care about have to struggle and go through this craziness. The rumors and stories got completely out of control.”
“I honestly wouldn’t wish fame on anybody,” Kelly said. “There are a lot of perks that come with it. I’m well aware of that and I’m thankful for it. But there’s a lot of bad and a lot of stress that comes with fame, too.”
On December 19th, Pavlik returned to the ring and scored a fifth-round knockout over journeyman Miguel Espino in Youngstown. That raised his record to 36-and-1 with 32 knockouts.
Then Kelly made a decision to address some of the personal issues in his life.
Many fighters don’t take care of themselves the way they should. They train for eight weeks and then, between fights, let themselves go. But the work ethic of a good fighter is far more demanding than the work ethic required of most conscientious men and women. And that work ethic extends to a fighter’s lifestyle. He might fight as few as two or three times a year. But the truly great fighters are always on the job. The demands of their trade would overwhelm ordinary people.
“I realized that I’d worked too hard for too long and come too far to let it all slip away from me,” Kelly said. “I decided to do what I had to do to make things right.”
On April 17th in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Pavlik’s journey through boxing placed him in the spotlight again; this time against Sergio Martinez.
The 35-year-old Martinez is a remarkable phenomenon. Born in Argentina, he moved to Spain and now lives in Oxnard, California. The first time he stepped into a boxing gym, he was 20 years old. Two years later, he turned pro.
Over the years, Martinez had compiled a 44-2-2 record with 24 knockouts. The blemishes on his ledger are deceiving. One of the draws came 12 years ago in Sergio’s third pro fight. The other was last year against Kermit Cintron in a bout that virtually everyone in attendance thought he won.
As for the losses, Martinez was stopped by Antonio Margarito ten years ago. And last December, he was on the short end of a majority decision after a hotly-contested encounter with Paul Williams. No less an authority than Kelly Pavlik thought that Sergio won that fight.
Pavlik-Martinez was a crossroads bout for both men and Kelly’s first big test since losing to Hopkins. Sergio was confident, ready, and strong; a superbly-conditioned athlete; fast with a solid chin, and a southpaw to boot.
“Kelly will have to be at his best to beat Martinez,” Jack Loew (Pavlik’s trainer) said. “And he will be. Ever since we signed for this fight, I’ve heard people say that Martinez is the wrong style for us. He’s too fast; he’s a left-hander. Let me tell you; Kelly hits harder than anyone Martinez has ever fought. And Kelly has never lost to a lefthander; not in the amateurs or the pros. I don’t care what Martinez does. He doesn’t have enough to beat us.”
“Southpaws that move are tough,” Pavlik acknowledged. “Martinez is a dangerous fighter. But a lot of the time, he’s off-balance. He leaves himself open to get hit. And he’s not as fast as people think he is.”
Pavlik looked good in the days leading up to the fight. There was a glow about him that hadn’t been there since his first outing against Jermain Taylor almost three years ago. He’d been eating better than ever before; no red meat, very little fat. Even his voice sounded different.
“This is a huge fight for me to prove a lot of things to a lot of people,” Kelly said.
The belief was that he’d done what he had to do outside the ring to get back on track in it.
“Kelly has been very motivated and focused,” Michael Cox said. “He really dedicated himself in training camp. There was no complaining. He did everything he had to do. He knows that his star has fallen, and he’s determined to make the next part of his career even better than the first part. He’s aware that, the same way the Miranda fight set the stage for what followed, this fight will go a long way toward determining what happens in the next part of his career.”
“Kelly fought so hard for so long that it took a lot out of him,” Mike Pavlik added. “The last few months, I’ve see a burning desire in him that I hadn’t seen in a while. He wants to fight again.”
Pavlik arrived at Boardwalk Hall and entered his dressing room at 8:30 on Saturday night. The arena was the scene of his greatest triumph (seizing the championship from Jermain Taylor) and also his loss to Bernard Hopkins.
The members of Team Pavlik unpacked their bags. No one had brought Kelly’s socks. There was a call to the hotel, asking a friend to bring them over.
Light conversation between Kelly, his father, and Jack Loew followed. The Cleveland Browns and the upcoming National Football League draft were the first subject of discussion.
“I don’t think they gave [recently traded quarterback] Brady Quinn a fair chance,” Mike Pavlik offered.
“He had nothing to work with,” Loew added.
The conversation turned to Tiger Woods.
“I thought sex therapy was to teach you how to do it; not how to stop…There’s a new DVD out. Tiger Woods talks about his best 18 holes.”
HBO production coordinator Tami Cotel came into the room and asked if she could check Kelly’s weight on an HBO scale. At three o’clock the previous afternoon, each fighter had weighed-in officially at 159-1/2 pounds. Martinez now weighed 167. Kelly stepped on the scale. Since the weigh-in, he’d gained 18 pounds.
The conversation resumed. Kelly fired a series of one-liners about a Youngstown legend named Bear Cabelli, who has a reputation for being tougher than the average guy.
“Bear Cabelli is so tough that he sleeps with a pillow under his gun…Bear Cabelli is so tough that he won a stare down with the sun…Bear Cabelli is so tough that he slammed a revolving door shut…Bear Cabelli is so tough that he killed two stones with one bird…When Bear Cabelli puts milk on his Rice Krispies, he’s so scary that Snap, Crackle, and Pop shut the f**k up.”
Loew began taping his fighter’s hands. When he was done, Kelly did some light stretching exercises and shadow-boxed briefly in the center of the room.
There was a quiet moment.
“How do you feel?” Mike Pavlik asked his son.
“Good.”
At ten o’clock, Kelly put on his trunks, socks, and shoes. Top Rank photographer Chris Farina, who was in the room, memorialized the moment.
“I’m glad I’m not a fighter,” Mike said. “I don’t want anyone taking photos of me when I’m getting dressed.”
Referee David Fields came in and gave Kelly his pre-fight instructions.
At 10:22, Lucian Bute vs. Edison Miranda (HBO’s first televised fight of the evening) began. Miranda is a different fighter from what he was when he fought Pavlik. Back then, the Colombian was a feared and ferocious puncher. A disputed loss to Arthur Abraham was the only blot on his record. He has now lost five of his last 12 fights.
All eyes turned toward a television monitor in a corner of the room.
“Miranda is shot,” Jack Loew said.
“He doesn’t even fight back anymore,” Mike noted.
Round one ended. Loew began gloving Kelly up.
Kelly kept an eye on the television monitor. “Bute is a sneaky fighter,” he said. “And he’s a good body puncher.”
Miranda was knocked out in the third round.
Loew warmed Kelly up on the pads.
“Remember, back him up…Tight punches…Don’t reach with the right hand…He might come out firing to make a point. If he does, fire back…If he turns, turn with him…That’s it…Be patient. You’ll catch him.”
Then it was time for battle. “What’s meant to be will be,” Mike Pavlik said.
Every fight is a self-contained drama. Pavlik-Martinez played out in three distinct acts.
Rounds one through four saw Sergio circling elusively, darting in and out as Kelly moved forward. During those rounds, Martinez out-landed Pavlik 61-to-38 and opened a small cut on Kelly’s left eyelid. It was not unlike a matador sticking banderillas into a bull.
In round five, the tide turned. Pavlik had kept the pressure on and it started to pay dividends. Over the four middle rounds, he out-landed Martinez 75-to-57, punctuated by a right hand to the top of the head in round seven that put Sergio down. It was more of a balance shot than a hurting one. Still, it gave Kelly a 10-8 round. After eight stanzas, he was ahead by a point and had taken control of the fight.
In round nine, Martinez regained control. A straight left-hand opened a gash over Pavlik’s right eye. Sergio was all over him like a swarm of bees.
From that point on, the challenger put a beating on the champion. Kelly’s face was a gory mask with blood streaming down both cheeks. Over the final four rounds, he absorbed 112 punches while landing only 51.
This writer scored it 115-112 in favor of Martinez. The three judges turned in similar cards.
Sergio fought a magnificent fight. But several self-inflicted wounds contributed to Kelly’s defeat.
First, Pavlik didn’t use his advantage in weight as effectively as he could have. He was neglectful of Martinez’s body for long periods of time and was too passive when he got in close. He should have leaned on Sergio, pumped punches into his side, and roughed him up. Instead, he landed only 22 body blows.
Second, Kelly tired down the stretch. Part of that was due to the demands of the fight. And part of it was because, while he worked hard and lived a disciplined life in the months leading up to April 17th, Martinez had worked hard and lived a disciplined life in the years leading up to the fight. There’s a difference.
If a fighter hasn’t taken care of his body properly for several years, he can’t put everything together in three-and-a-half months. Not if he’s fighting Sergio Martinez.
There was a rematch clause in Kelly’s contract for the fight. If he chooses to exercise it, in order to beat Martinez, he has to use the conditioning that he has developed so far, this year, as a platform to build on. He can’t backslide and start over again from square one.
A better cutman would also help. For most of Kelly’s career, Miguel Diaz was in his corner. But according to a source in the Pavlik camp, Diaz demanded excessive fees for fights after Pavlik-Hopkins. That and a reported personality conflict led to Miguel being let go. There are other excellent cutmen in boxing. Sid Brumback (who was in Pavlik’s corner against Martinez) has not yet proven himself to be one of them.
Against Martinez, the cutwork in Kelly’s corner was ineffective and the flow of blood was a factor. A big one.
“I was having a hard time seeing,” Pavlik said in his dressing room after the fight.”
Kelly was sitting on the same chair he’d been on a little more than an hour earlier when Jack Loew gloved him up.
His body was streaked with blood.
Mike Pavlik stood by his son. The preceding hour had been particularly painful for Mike. He hadn’t just watched Kelly lose an athletic competition. He’d seen his son get beaten up.
Kelly bowed his head.
“Sh*t! I hate losing.”
“It’s part of the game,” Mike said. “Nobody stays champion forever.”
“A f**king punching bag. That’s what I was tonight.”
“I’m still proud of you.”
Kelly shook his head.
“For eight rounds, I fought a good fight. The last four rounds, I was a f**king punching bag. They should have put ‘Everlast’ on my forehead.”
“Not many people in history have been middleweight champion of the world,” Mike told his son. “Hold your head high.”
One at a time, family members and friends came over to Kelly, offering hugs and words of consolation. Then he rose from his chair, dressed without showering, and started for the door with Mike at his side.
“I’m going to the hospital to get sewn up,” he said. “I’ll see you guys back at the hotel.”
Thomas Hauser can be reached by e-mail at thauser@rcn.com. His most recent book (“An Unforgiving Sport”) was published by the University of Arkansas Press.
Source: secondsout.com
Mayweather takes diversion while Pacquiao lies in wait -- The Independent
By Alan Hubbard, Indepedent.co.uk
He used to be known as Pretty Boy but now Floyd Mayweather Jnr wishes to be called Money – no doubt because it is a commodity he loves above everything else, apart from himself. Boxing's supreme craftsman returns to the ring in Las Vegas next Saturday against Sugar Shane Mosley, one of the game's great warriors, in the biggest fight of the year so far.
Yet Mosley's WBA welterweight title will not be at stake because the Money Man has refused to pay the sanctioning fee. "I don't need titles," says the undefeated five-weight world champion and former WBC and IBF welterweight belt holder. "At this stage of my career it's all about enhancing my legacy."
Not since Muhammad Ali has a fighter been as much a law unto himself as Mayweather, who, like Ali – and to the annoyance of his contemporaries – has the ability to justify his arrogance. He even proclaims himself the greatest boxer of all time.
"Things change, it's out with the old and in with the new. Muhammad Ali was one hell of a fighter but Floyd Mayweather is the best." This, of course, is highly contentious, but what we must agree upon is that the 33-year-old Mayweather, last seen boxing the ears off Juan Manuel Marquez, is an artist on canvas, a Gauguin in gloves. Ask Ricky Hatton.
A curious contest, this. Mayweather should have been settling the argument with Manny Pacquiao about who currently is the world's best pound-for-pounder. But he refused to sign a contract for a fight set to gross $250 million because the Filipino would not accept Olympic-style blood testing. Yet he has now agreed to meet Mosley, who last October admitted in court while suing Balco's Victor Conte for defamation that he knowingly used the banned substance EPO during the build-up to a 2003 contest with Oscar De La Hoya. Not a peep from Mayweather about this, which suggests he was creating controversy to build up more interest for when he and Pacquiao do meet, probably later this year.
Mosley, who has undergone five blood and urine tests, is himself a three-weight world champion and claims that Mayweather has been avoiding him for years. He has the pedigree to scupper what would be the richest fight in history, but at 38 he could be a little leg-weary by the time Mayweather, supreme master of the art of backfoot boxing, has manoeuvred him around the ring for a dozen rounds. "This is a competitive sport and I'm ready to go into the history books as the guy who beat the great Floyd Mayweather," he says.
Mayweather counters: "Like I have always said, there is no remedy on how to beat Floyd Mayweather. It's like a difficult maths problem that no one can solve."
Mayweather loves money like Goldfinger loves gold. He likes to flaunt his wealth, collecting the huge price tags on the jewellery he wears like some collect stamps. The King of Bling is a big betting man and seldom leaves his Las Vegas mansion without tens of thousands of dollars in gambling money. This fight is something of a gamble for him but at 4-1 on, one he should win without much discomfort.
It takes place at the MGM Grand, where 14 years ago Herbie Hide pocketed £2m when losing the WBO heavyweight belt to Riddick Bowe. On Friday, Hide will be back at the venue where he began his career 21 years ago, York Hall in London's Bethnal Green, to take part in Barry Hearn's Prizefighter cruiserweight tournament, hoping to do an Audley Harrison and propel himself towards another world-title fight at 38.
The Dancing Destroyer has had 48 bouts, winning the last 13, most of them in Germany, where he is now based against hand-picked pushovers from Eastern Europe. Herbert Okechuka Maduagwa came to Britain from Nigeria and was adopted by a Norwich family. He went to private school and college but turned into a bad lad. Yet he became one of only three Brits to hold a version of the world heavyweight title in the last century, with Frank Bruno and latterly David Haye.
I can count on the fingers of one hand fighters who I would hesitate to invite round for tea. The unpleasantly bumptious Hide is one of them. He is not without talent but his fortitude was found wanting against quality opposition such as Bowe and Vitali Klitschko. It will be interesting to see if our Mr Hide has become a Dr Jekyll.
Source: independent.co.uk
He used to be known as Pretty Boy but now Floyd Mayweather Jnr wishes to be called Money – no doubt because it is a commodity he loves above everything else, apart from himself. Boxing's supreme craftsman returns to the ring in Las Vegas next Saturday against Sugar Shane Mosley, one of the game's great warriors, in the biggest fight of the year so far.
Yet Mosley's WBA welterweight title will not be at stake because the Money Man has refused to pay the sanctioning fee. "I don't need titles," says the undefeated five-weight world champion and former WBC and IBF welterweight belt holder. "At this stage of my career it's all about enhancing my legacy."
Not since Muhammad Ali has a fighter been as much a law unto himself as Mayweather, who, like Ali – and to the annoyance of his contemporaries – has the ability to justify his arrogance. He even proclaims himself the greatest boxer of all time.
"Things change, it's out with the old and in with the new. Muhammad Ali was one hell of a fighter but Floyd Mayweather is the best." This, of course, is highly contentious, but what we must agree upon is that the 33-year-old Mayweather, last seen boxing the ears off Juan Manuel Marquez, is an artist on canvas, a Gauguin in gloves. Ask Ricky Hatton.
A curious contest, this. Mayweather should have been settling the argument with Manny Pacquiao about who currently is the world's best pound-for-pounder. But he refused to sign a contract for a fight set to gross $250 million because the Filipino would not accept Olympic-style blood testing. Yet he has now agreed to meet Mosley, who last October admitted in court while suing Balco's Victor Conte for defamation that he knowingly used the banned substance EPO during the build-up to a 2003 contest with Oscar De La Hoya. Not a peep from Mayweather about this, which suggests he was creating controversy to build up more interest for when he and Pacquiao do meet, probably later this year.
Mosley, who has undergone five blood and urine tests, is himself a three-weight world champion and claims that Mayweather has been avoiding him for years. He has the pedigree to scupper what would be the richest fight in history, but at 38 he could be a little leg-weary by the time Mayweather, supreme master of the art of backfoot boxing, has manoeuvred him around the ring for a dozen rounds. "This is a competitive sport and I'm ready to go into the history books as the guy who beat the great Floyd Mayweather," he says.
Mayweather counters: "Like I have always said, there is no remedy on how to beat Floyd Mayweather. It's like a difficult maths problem that no one can solve."
Mayweather loves money like Goldfinger loves gold. He likes to flaunt his wealth, collecting the huge price tags on the jewellery he wears like some collect stamps. The King of Bling is a big betting man and seldom leaves his Las Vegas mansion without tens of thousands of dollars in gambling money. This fight is something of a gamble for him but at 4-1 on, one he should win without much discomfort.
It takes place at the MGM Grand, where 14 years ago Herbie Hide pocketed £2m when losing the WBO heavyweight belt to Riddick Bowe. On Friday, Hide will be back at the venue where he began his career 21 years ago, York Hall in London's Bethnal Green, to take part in Barry Hearn's Prizefighter cruiserweight tournament, hoping to do an Audley Harrison and propel himself towards another world-title fight at 38.
The Dancing Destroyer has had 48 bouts, winning the last 13, most of them in Germany, where he is now based against hand-picked pushovers from Eastern Europe. Herbert Okechuka Maduagwa came to Britain from Nigeria and was adopted by a Norwich family. He went to private school and college but turned into a bad lad. Yet he became one of only three Brits to hold a version of the world heavyweight title in the last century, with Frank Bruno and latterly David Haye.
I can count on the fingers of one hand fighters who I would hesitate to invite round for tea. The unpleasantly bumptious Hide is one of them. He is not without talent but his fortitude was found wanting against quality opposition such as Bowe and Vitali Klitschko. It will be interesting to see if our Mr Hide has become a Dr Jekyll.
Source: independent.co.uk
Floyd or Money? Mayweather plays them both -- USA Today
By Tim Dahlberg, AP Sports Columnist
LAS VEGAS — The entourage was down to a manageable level, if only because there's just so many people you can fit in a shower room. Floyd Mayweather Jr. left the rest outside, with a massive security-type stationed at the door just to make sure everyone got the message.
If anyone deserved a hot shower, it was the hardest working man in boxing. Mayweather may some day lose a fight, but it won't be because he comes in out of shape.
On this day, just blocks from the Las Vegas Strip, that meant a half-hour straight of hard sparring, followed by another half-hour on the heavy bag and then some work on the speed bag. Then there were sit-ups to do, mitts to pound and, finally, rope to jump.
His date with Shane Mosley was drawing nearer. Mayweather's work was intense, and so was his focus.
One of the entourage stepped in to get the shower running. Before he got clean, though, Mayweather came clean.
It is, he says, mostly an act.
That foul-mouthed, money-tossing, mansion-loving guy who entertains weekly on HBO's "24/7?" Well, someone has to play the villain, and it pays awfully well.
"The character I portray, sometimes people think that's what I am," Mayweather said. "It's not. Floyd Mayweather is my name, the guy called Money Mayweather is just a character."
Oh, yeah?
"I'm not at home throwing money around," Mayweather insisted. "I'm at my house with my children. The rest of it is all entertainment. It's all business."
Some of it, anyway. A few minutes later, Mayweather was talking about his NBA playoff bets, and how he had won about $30,000 gambling the night before. He's legendary in this city's nightclubs for spreading the cash around, and he's got his own customized armored car to drive when he has to go to the bank.
And most homebodies don't need bodyguards with massive biceps seven of them on this day to shield them against foes both real and imagined. They don't get mentioned outside courtrooms as possible police targets in a skating rink shooting investigation.
Then again, most fighters don't do conference calls with boxing writers from their daughter's school, like Mayweather did a few days ago.
"My daughter's getting an award today," he said. "She's like the No. 1 kid in her school."
If the lines between what's real and what's not are fuzzy, well, that's just Mayweather. Family man, would-be thug, boxer, helper of the homeless, he juggles all his roles with ease.
One minute he's humble. The next he's the greatest ever.
"Muhammad Ali was one hell of a fighter, but Floyd Mayweather is the best," he said. "Sugar Ray Robinson was one hell of a fighter, but Floyd Mayweather is the best."
Mostly, though, he's just a fighter. He was literally born into the sport and it permeates his entire being.
In the gym with him are his father and uncle, both former fighters and both trainers. Running around are small children, including one slick boxer he nicknamed "Cash Flow."
The bodyguards patrol the parking lot and guard the front door, but inside it's organized chaos. About 50 people gather around the ring to cheer Mayweather on as he takes on a sparring partner in a fight that never seems to end.
It's good preparation for Mosley, who could be one of Mayweather's toughest opponents ever when they meet next Saturday at the MGM Grand hotel arena. Oddsmakers still like Mayweather to win, but he's going to be in the ring against a fighter who has the skills and the pedigree to more than hold his own.
"Shane Mosley is a solid welterweight," Mayweather says. "But he's a fighter who always worries about landing one big shot. I worry about being smart. We're two totally different fighters."
This wasn't the fight Mayweather was supposed to be in this spring. He and Manny Pacquiao were all set to meet in a megafight in March until Mayweather's insistence on Olympic-style drug testing caused the bout to fall apart.
That Mosley would be the opponent instead is ironic because he was linked to the BALCO scandal, but both fighters have for the first time undergone random blood and urine tests from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Depending on how much Mosley has left at the age of 38, the fight has the potential to be competitive if nothing else.
Mayweather doesn't seem to be overly concerned. He's won all 40 of his professional fights and, though his defensive style may not please a lot of boxing fans, he's discovered that he can fight the way he wants to and still make millions.
If that means he has to play the role of a villain, then so be it. By now he has the role down, and he's awfully good at it.
The real performance, though, comes next Saturday night. And that will be no act.
Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: usatoday.com
LAS VEGAS — The entourage was down to a manageable level, if only because there's just so many people you can fit in a shower room. Floyd Mayweather Jr. left the rest outside, with a massive security-type stationed at the door just to make sure everyone got the message.
If anyone deserved a hot shower, it was the hardest working man in boxing. Mayweather may some day lose a fight, but it won't be because he comes in out of shape.
On this day, just blocks from the Las Vegas Strip, that meant a half-hour straight of hard sparring, followed by another half-hour on the heavy bag and then some work on the speed bag. Then there were sit-ups to do, mitts to pound and, finally, rope to jump.
His date with Shane Mosley was drawing nearer. Mayweather's work was intense, and so was his focus.
One of the entourage stepped in to get the shower running. Before he got clean, though, Mayweather came clean.
It is, he says, mostly an act.
That foul-mouthed, money-tossing, mansion-loving guy who entertains weekly on HBO's "24/7?" Well, someone has to play the villain, and it pays awfully well.
"The character I portray, sometimes people think that's what I am," Mayweather said. "It's not. Floyd Mayweather is my name, the guy called Money Mayweather is just a character."
Oh, yeah?
"I'm not at home throwing money around," Mayweather insisted. "I'm at my house with my children. The rest of it is all entertainment. It's all business."
Some of it, anyway. A few minutes later, Mayweather was talking about his NBA playoff bets, and how he had won about $30,000 gambling the night before. He's legendary in this city's nightclubs for spreading the cash around, and he's got his own customized armored car to drive when he has to go to the bank.
And most homebodies don't need bodyguards with massive biceps seven of them on this day to shield them against foes both real and imagined. They don't get mentioned outside courtrooms as possible police targets in a skating rink shooting investigation.
Then again, most fighters don't do conference calls with boxing writers from their daughter's school, like Mayweather did a few days ago.
"My daughter's getting an award today," he said. "She's like the No. 1 kid in her school."
If the lines between what's real and what's not are fuzzy, well, that's just Mayweather. Family man, would-be thug, boxer, helper of the homeless, he juggles all his roles with ease.
One minute he's humble. The next he's the greatest ever.
"Muhammad Ali was one hell of a fighter, but Floyd Mayweather is the best," he said. "Sugar Ray Robinson was one hell of a fighter, but Floyd Mayweather is the best."
Mostly, though, he's just a fighter. He was literally born into the sport and it permeates his entire being.
In the gym with him are his father and uncle, both former fighters and both trainers. Running around are small children, including one slick boxer he nicknamed "Cash Flow."
The bodyguards patrol the parking lot and guard the front door, but inside it's organized chaos. About 50 people gather around the ring to cheer Mayweather on as he takes on a sparring partner in a fight that never seems to end.
It's good preparation for Mosley, who could be one of Mayweather's toughest opponents ever when they meet next Saturday at the MGM Grand hotel arena. Oddsmakers still like Mayweather to win, but he's going to be in the ring against a fighter who has the skills and the pedigree to more than hold his own.
"Shane Mosley is a solid welterweight," Mayweather says. "But he's a fighter who always worries about landing one big shot. I worry about being smart. We're two totally different fighters."
This wasn't the fight Mayweather was supposed to be in this spring. He and Manny Pacquiao were all set to meet in a megafight in March until Mayweather's insistence on Olympic-style drug testing caused the bout to fall apart.
That Mosley would be the opponent instead is ironic because he was linked to the BALCO scandal, but both fighters have for the first time undergone random blood and urine tests from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Depending on how much Mosley has left at the age of 38, the fight has the potential to be competitive if nothing else.
Mayweather doesn't seem to be overly concerned. He's won all 40 of his professional fights and, though his defensive style may not please a lot of boxing fans, he's discovered that he can fight the way he wants to and still make millions.
If that means he has to play the role of a villain, then so be it. By now he has the role down, and he's awfully good at it.
The real performance, though, comes next Saturday night. And that will be no act.
Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: usatoday.com
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