Saturday, September 7, 2013
2012 Ohio Olympian Terrell Gausha VS Austin Marcum Ends Painfully In Two
(Aired on the nineteenth of August, 2013-I've just received my DVR back to post about this match recently)
Middleweight prospect Terrell Gausha got a good television spot to open FS1's boxing broadcast in August against Austin Marcum. If you liked what you saw from the Cleveland native, he's also slated to fight on the twelfth against Bruce Runkle on the MGM grand card which has fellow Ohioan Sean Porter in his rematch with Julio Diaz scheduled.
In round one, Gausha calmly pops his jab throughout. He looks the naturally bigger man. He significantly hurts Marcum, who is pumped for a fight, and puts him down into the ropes at the last moment of the round. The ref counts and proceeds to let him to his stool, satisfied that at least with the minute's recovery time he should be allowed to continue. It was really three punches, a left and two rights, that all looked to hurt Marcum by themselves before he finally slumped down onto the middle rope. I am very surprised Marcum was able to compose himself and come back for the second round after the way he went down there. It looked to be a close to the show at that point, honestly.
In the second round, Marcum gave a flurry to Gausha's body, shoe-shining type punches, it seemed. Not long after that, with a perfect example of class difference, Gausha took Marcum down on mostly body shots. Instead of a flurrying, they were crushing blows that brought Marcum crumpled to the canvas. He endured some serious punishment for a two-rounder. A game showing from Marcum but a promising showing from Gausha. He was calm, confident and overall impressively professional for his number of pro fights, having come to the ring with only four.
Miscellaneous note: The night's commentators were Paulie Malignaggi, Bernard Hopkins and Dave Bontempo.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Friday, September 6, 2013
Jairo Castaneda VS Warren Stewart Produces Fast Paced 4-Round Action On FS1
FS1's Monday Night Fights aired San Antonio's massively rangy prospect Jairo Castaneda's third professional fight against Warren Stewart. Now, Stewart had weight issues, was coming off an almost exactly three-year layoff and was only a one-fight pro at that. These are certainly things to keep in mind when assessing Castaneda's four-round unanimous decision victory. All of that said, Stewart was game and presented a nice early test of small man fighting on the lanky Castaneda. This was contested at the welterweight limit for Castaneda, as he was three pounds above the light welterweight limit, though I believe he's aiming to be a light welterweight prospect (built a lot like Amir Khan for the weight class) with Warren coming in with his weight trouble a bit above the welterweight limit, within the light middleweight limit at 148.5, if boxrec has it listed correctly.
Through rounds one and two Stewart's punches are clearly wide and slow. Castaneda landed almost at will through these rounds. Castaneda did not control Stewart from range, as you'd think would be the smart game plan but he still beat him thoroughly. The third round was extremely high in action, Stewart's openness is looking almost deliberate and he's as aggressive as a pit bull, but he still doesn't get the better of the round. Castaneda abandons a good, effective jab for the most part to get into a brawl. With a guy like Stewart, this is the kind of mistake a young, excited fighter tends to get into. Not surprising, but not good either, save for the audience's entertainment.
The final round saw Stewart again starting like gangbusters on Castaneda, as he did in the last, doing his best to be a fully fledged pressure fighter. I don't know if his chin is above average or if Castaneda just has very little stopping power. For certain, Jairo has a good offensive diversity and was throwing and landing every type of punch at Stewart throughout the match. Stewart still never seemed concerned about Castaneda's punching power, even while being tagged flush with his hands down, multiple times. After the strong start of Stewart, again, Castaneda comes back to batter Stewart throughout the majority of the round.
I'd like to see Castaneda commit to his jabbing more consistently, and straighten out his right hand for a more one-two oriented arsenal, with his height and reach. I scored the match 40-36, as did all three of the judges. But much credit to Stewart's tenacity. The punch stats had both men throwing 250+ punches over four rounds. Nice television match, this was. Castaneda's fight wasn't the smartest, to me, but he was unarguably dominant and fan-friendly against a very determined opponent. This was yet another good call for FS1's programming. I was very pleased with their card.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thursday, September 5, 2013
3-Time Ohio Olympian Rau'shee Warren UD's Omar Gonzalez in Dominant Fashion
Cincinnati native and highly decorated former amateur Rau'shee Warren took on Omar Gonzalez on the back of Gonzalez's surprising 4-round victory over Raul Martinez on FS1's Monday Night Fights. The baffling speed of Warren had Gonzalez on the canvas for two flash knockdowns in the opening round. One on right hooks and one apparently on a stiff jab! Gonzalez had a bloody nose when he went back to his corner after the first round and Warren was looking excellent in this rare match (rare for being two southpaws). The first round was a good indicator of everything to follow, save for it actually going the distance.
In round two, Warren still displays one cracking right hook and terrific reflexes but it gets scrappier as the ref has to step into Warren's spotlight a bit. Gonzalez hits the deck, and it's correctly not ruled a legit knockdown. In round three, Gonzalez lands a little bit but is mostly countered simple and likely realises fighting on the front foot or off the back foot, he's not getting into the fight that much. He's trying to adjust, respectably, but it's not winning him the round. In round four, Gonzalez excites the crowd in a largely ineffective sustained attack on Warren while having him on the ropes. Warren is seeming to get excited as well and gets a warning for shoving Omar. Gonzalez's wide, wide shots are connecting now, and he's getting into this, surprisingly as it is. He's not getting countered as badly throughout this round so far. Warren seems to realise Gonzalez is getting into it and starts to get very aggressive. He forces a legitimate knockdown, quickly stamping out Gonzalez's great effort throughout most of the round. Omar has his mouthpiece placed back in after the ref gives him his count.
In round five, boxer/commentator of the night (and doing a lovely job at it), Paulie Malignaggi notes that Warren is likely baiting Gonzalez so that he can shine with his counters and I agree. He seems to want to play on his counter-punching, smartly, until he realises a round is getting away from him. Then he has no trouble leading. Warren dominates this round in style. In round six, the final round, yet again, seemingly as soon as Warren thinks Gonzalez is having more success than he should be having, getting into the fight just a little bit, he takes it away from him. He won't let his opponent win a round just because he can afford to lose it. Gonzalez pinned him on the ropes a bit and teed off on his body and soon after he is down again, on a right hook to the side of the head, I believe. This is the fourth knockdown.
There is obviously no points win in all probability for Gonzalez from very early on but he keeps trying to get into it. He's a strong-willed fighter. But, again, it's Gonzalez trying to get into the fight and Warren dashing his hopes of being competitive as immediately as he can after any success at all. I love that instinct in a fighter. That's a ring general. Gonzalez takes yet another knockdown from Warren, with a few hard shots, with his mouthpiece out again. It wasn't likely one telling punch but a few hard shots from the better man while hoping to get a stoppage on his TV date. He survives about forty more seconds to the final bell of this six-rounder.
Gonzalez was so utterly outclassed in suffering his five knockdowns in six rounds that I don't believe he could have done anything more than what he did. He fought a courageous fight, tried to use his head and adjust a bit, stayed mentally strong, never quit, but Warren was simply coming from a very different neighbourhood, both athletically and intellectually. I'm speaking of that neighbourhood, skillwise, but geographically speaking, perhaps Warren and Broner will be in some sort of red hot Ohio, USA era. I know Warren wanted that stoppage and everybody likes a stoppage to get excited about someone, but he cements himself as a hot prospect for my liking. Both men gave a credit to the opportunity they received to be on television. This was another good choice from FS1, I feel. No, not for competitiveness, in retrospect, but for showcasing someone worth showcasing - someone who could be a future champion and has skills a purist can appreciate. Congrats to Rau'shee Warren. I believe he's listed as a Bantamweight, so I'm looking for him to step it up there, although this match was technically contested within the Super Bantamweight limit.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
In round two, Warren still displays one cracking right hook and terrific reflexes but it gets scrappier as the ref has to step into Warren's spotlight a bit. Gonzalez hits the deck, and it's correctly not ruled a legit knockdown. In round three, Gonzalez lands a little bit but is mostly countered simple and likely realises fighting on the front foot or off the back foot, he's not getting into the fight that much. He's trying to adjust, respectably, but it's not winning him the round. In round four, Gonzalez excites the crowd in a largely ineffective sustained attack on Warren while having him on the ropes. Warren is seeming to get excited as well and gets a warning for shoving Omar. Gonzalez's wide, wide shots are connecting now, and he's getting into this, surprisingly as it is. He's not getting countered as badly throughout this round so far. Warren seems to realise Gonzalez is getting into it and starts to get very aggressive. He forces a legitimate knockdown, quickly stamping out Gonzalez's great effort throughout most of the round. Omar has his mouthpiece placed back in after the ref gives him his count.
In round five, boxer/commentator of the night (and doing a lovely job at it), Paulie Malignaggi notes that Warren is likely baiting Gonzalez so that he can shine with his counters and I agree. He seems to want to play on his counter-punching, smartly, until he realises a round is getting away from him. Then he has no trouble leading. Warren dominates this round in style. In round six, the final round, yet again, seemingly as soon as Warren thinks Gonzalez is having more success than he should be having, getting into the fight just a little bit, he takes it away from him. He won't let his opponent win a round just because he can afford to lose it. Gonzalez pinned him on the ropes a bit and teed off on his body and soon after he is down again, on a right hook to the side of the head, I believe. This is the fourth knockdown.
There is obviously no points win in all probability for Gonzalez from very early on but he keeps trying to get into it. He's a strong-willed fighter. But, again, it's Gonzalez trying to get into the fight and Warren dashing his hopes of being competitive as immediately as he can after any success at all. I love that instinct in a fighter. That's a ring general. Gonzalez takes yet another knockdown from Warren, with a few hard shots, with his mouthpiece out again. It wasn't likely one telling punch but a few hard shots from the better man while hoping to get a stoppage on his TV date. He survives about forty more seconds to the final bell of this six-rounder.
Gonzalez was so utterly outclassed in suffering his five knockdowns in six rounds that I don't believe he could have done anything more than what he did. He fought a courageous fight, tried to use his head and adjust a bit, stayed mentally strong, never quit, but Warren was simply coming from a very different neighbourhood, both athletically and intellectually. I'm speaking of that neighbourhood, skillwise, but geographically speaking, perhaps Warren and Broner will be in some sort of red hot Ohio, USA era. I know Warren wanted that stoppage and everybody likes a stoppage to get excited about someone, but he cements himself as a hot prospect for my liking. Both men gave a credit to the opportunity they received to be on television. This was another good choice from FS1, I feel. No, not for competitiveness, in retrospect, but for showcasing someone worth showcasing - someone who could be a future champion and has skills a purist can appreciate. Congrats to Rau'shee Warren. I believe he's listed as a Bantamweight, so I'm looking for him to step it up there, although this match was technically contested within the Super Bantamweight limit.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
FS1 Super Bantamweight Scrap Ends Without Satisfaction: Daniel Quevedo VS Raul Martinez
Airing on Fox Sports 1 this past Monday, tough Journeyman Daniel Quevedo gave two-time world title challenger (Flyweight & Super Flyweight) and former North American Super Flyweight Champion Raul Martinez fair work to rebound from his highly unlikely loss from earlier this year to then listed 5-8 Omar Gonzalez. Martinez was apparently looking for confidence and/or redemption and may have found very little of either with this limited outing. Quevedo began the night looking very physically imposing, stalking after Martinez in round one. In round two, Martinez started to stand his ground and oblige Quevedo. This was very scrappy and much of it in a phone booth which most likely lead to a cut on Quevedo's eye, via headbutt.
Martinez has been trying to improve under the tutelage of the very fine former 130-pound titlist Jesse James Leija, it is mentioned. In round three, while Martinez was consistently showing the natural athlete between the two, it was still a fight, through and through. For all Martinez's advantage in hand and foot speed and overall class, there was Quevedo, 13-13-3 record, finding him, competing evenly enough. That signifies a ring generalship problem for Martinez. When you know the advantages are there, but they're not preventing the other man from scoring competitively, the ring generalship is just not there.
In round four, Martinez shows he's heating up and even staggers Quevedo a bit at the end. For most of the round, Martinez and Quevedo looked like you'd think they should look together, with their records. It was perhaps during that time which Quevedo injured himself, because Quevedo retired with an injury between this round and the next and did not answer the bell for the fifth round. He did so believably, as he was game and wanting more throughout the match, never seeming particularly discouraged or impressed with his opponent.
It's gone down in the books as an unsatisfying TKO5 outcome for Raul Martinez, though the action itself was good and showed a good choice for FS1. To me, as rocky as the rounds were for him, Raul is still looking a very cool prospect, as opposed to hot, when looking for the next man to be made champion. It was Quevedo who fought well for the role he plays in boxing and Martinez who simply got the job done and while I have to give respect to both, I'd be very hesitant betting on Martinez in his next match. I do not think he's in a comfortable place right now. All the best to both, however, as they suit television just fine for me. They made a good match together.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Martinez has been trying to improve under the tutelage of the very fine former 130-pound titlist Jesse James Leija, it is mentioned. In round three, while Martinez was consistently showing the natural athlete between the two, it was still a fight, through and through. For all Martinez's advantage in hand and foot speed and overall class, there was Quevedo, 13-13-3 record, finding him, competing evenly enough. That signifies a ring generalship problem for Martinez. When you know the advantages are there, but they're not preventing the other man from scoring competitively, the ring generalship is just not there.
In round four, Martinez shows he's heating up and even staggers Quevedo a bit at the end. For most of the round, Martinez and Quevedo looked like you'd think they should look together, with their records. It was perhaps during that time which Quevedo injured himself, because Quevedo retired with an injury between this round and the next and did not answer the bell for the fifth round. He did so believably, as he was game and wanting more throughout the match, never seeming particularly discouraged or impressed with his opponent.
It's gone down in the books as an unsatisfying TKO5 outcome for Raul Martinez, though the action itself was good and showed a good choice for FS1. To me, as rocky as the rounds were for him, Raul is still looking a very cool prospect, as opposed to hot, when looking for the next man to be made champion. It was Quevedo who fought well for the role he plays in boxing and Martinez who simply got the job done and while I have to give respect to both, I'd be very hesitant betting on Martinez in his next match. I do not think he's in a comfortable place right now. All the best to both, however, as they suit television just fine for me. They made a good match together.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Monday, September 2, 2013
Tommy "The Duke" Morrison Passes Away at 44: RIP To A Classic Heavyweight Warrior
Morrison's rise to fame from his harsh upbringing? Classic American dream stuff it was. That he was sensationalised with poor American racialist taste as a great white hope fighter? A classic controversial heavyweight boxing theme anywhere between Marciano and Klitschko. Considering Tommy's fair hair and skin allowed the concept to take root despite being half American Indian, it shows how much the tradition of boxing race-baiting is based on ignorance and stupidity (like race-baiting in general). Tommy's mother is half Otoe, half Ponca. You'll find even Wikipedia prefers to over look it at this time, listing The Duke only under the category of "American people of Scottish descent". Morrison's bizarre career end and post fight life? What can I say? What does it matter now? The years of rumours, incessant chatter about his failing health every few months and his legal troubles, his non-boxing combat career, his family dramas, controversial political and medical opinions, they're all things I've been getting fed steadily in my circle of friends. But forget the legendary partying that became less and less of a party or the strange quotes from Morrisson and everything else, save his boxing career.
What matters is that Tommy Morrisson was truly a classic heavyweight warrior. What was true, regardless of scandals and sensationalism is that Morrisson had one of the most vaunted left hooks the heavyweight division has ever seen and he loved to lay it all out on the line in a fight. He put on some of the most entertaining matches in one of the best heavyweight eras. He mixed it up with Lennox Lewis, Ray Mercer, Razor Ruddock, George Foreman and more. He fought through all manners of injury and became the kind of fan favourite that there aren't too many of anymore at heavyweight. He was, to me, perfectly described with a term that may have been coined by Jim Lampley when he used it on another fighter: A high class brawler. A man who knew how to box, but he usually applied it during real fights full of risky exchanges. He rarely seemed too interested in taking a win on points (80% knockout ratios don't happen across 50+ fights for no reason). That's why good fans, of all colours and creeds could appreciate him. They didn't have to be fans, nor did they have to be engaged in the race-baiting, but they would be watching.
You had to watch Tommy Morrison. He was must-see TV. I've also always heard that while he was healthy enough he always took time to converse with fans and that is something that I have always respected. When these guys give their time, time from their personal lives that they are NOT obligated to give, to share a special moment with the people who love their sport, that's what makes me appreciate them as much as their fighting.
What boggles my mind, as a long time fan, is that at 44, Morrison, having left the sport so young, it seems like he was around a lot longer than he was (so much action was delivered) and it seems like he's been gone a lot longer than he actually has been (almost like we've been through three eras since he's been gone). Tommy Morrison, age 44, Vitali Klitschko, 42, Tony Thompson, 41, Tomasz Adamek, Steve Cunningham and Wladimir Klitschko-36, 37 and 37. I can hardly believe the numbers when I think about it and that Morrison's peak was perhaps, what, 1993 or so? Can it be two decades since he beat George Foreman for the WBO heavyweight title? Morrison turned pro young, rose to fame young, lived very fast and burned out just as fast. Now, he's passed away at only 44?
Again, as a fan, I don't care about the controversies surrounding his death so much as a classic fighter from my youth dying, and doing it at this age. I've heard there was a lot of suffering over at least the past year (at the very least, all things considered) and the end of that is the only good thing I can focus on with the news. He's been relieved of that suffering. The important thing to me is that we remember this was one hell of a fighter to watch, which is what I think he'd have wanted us to remember. If there's peace to be found for him yet, rest in peace, Duke.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
PS: Go and enjoy some of his many fights spread across the Internet. I will be doing just that.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Bulgarian Jab Artist Kubrat Pulev Takes Ugly Win Over Tony Thompson, Earns Challenge For Heavyweight Title
Undefeated heavyweight contender Kubrat Pulev took on two-time world title challenger Tony Thompson on Saturday, in Germany. It was awkward. This awkwardness was not a surprise. Both of their styles are awkward by nature and Thompson is a southpaw on top of that. There was tangling of the arms, stepping on the feet, landing on the back of the head, head-locking, shoving to the ground, and one very sweaty ref in Randy Neumann. Not only was it awkward but awkwardness only gets magnified by the size of these big men, both above 6'3, both above 250 pounds. That's one mountain of awkwardness. Thompson, ever the rarity, taking this tough fight less than two months from his last, another big fight with Britain's David Price, got a rusty Pulev while he may have been overworked himself, considering his age.
Kubrat was forced into inactivity during a nightmarish wait as other potential opponents flirted with the idea of facing him, then, teases that they were, turned their backs on him for a supposedly better deal. Odlanier Solis, Tomasz Adamek and Tyson Fury, all were supposed to be in this eliminator tournament to face Champion Wladimir Klitschko with Kubrat. Each of them failed to take this opportunity for one reason or another. Solis didn't make it to fight one, whereas Adamek and Fury both won a fight in the tournament, then dropped out rather than face Pulev. Adamek went on to nothing much and Fury went on to sign for a major all-British clash with David Haye. Because of this, though Pulev won his first round of the tournament against undefeated giant Alexander Ustinov, he was forced into nearly a year's inactivity, after a fast track career from his debut in late 2009.
Well, Pulev defeated Thompson. Many Bulgarian flags were waved in the German crowd. But it was no more easy than it was pretty. The 41-year-old Thompson hasn't been easy for anyone but Wladimir Klitschko, and only then in a rematch, the first time giving Wlad a long, messy night. Thompson is a "super heavyweight" southpaw who throws in volume, mixes shots to the head and body well, has a gangly matrix of a defense, takes a whale of a shot and fires back at unexpected angles. He's not outstandingly powerful or fast. He's just a fully fledged, honest to goodness, pain in the butt fighter, who uses his own confusing style with great success. Similarly, Pulev isn't flashy, doesn't deliver sensational kayos, isn't spectacular to even some well-trained eyes, but his winning ability keeps being proven, time and again, as he's stepped up in competition.
My post fight analysis:
Early on: Thompson was confident, stuck jabs to Pulev's body (an uncommon heavyweight tool) , throwing off Pulev's best offensive weapon-the jab, and being exactly the type of crafty old vet and southpaw jinx that can derail good looking prospects in the worst way. The same way Thompson derailed The Gentleman Beast, David Price. Thompson had the early rounds on my card. The difference to Price was, Pulev had the punch resistance, the professional poise, and the intellect to do what Price didn't with Thompson in front of him. He took Thompson's best shots, stood strong, adjusted, found a way to land straight right and left combinations, the same way Wladimir did in his rematch with Thompson, to eventually even assert his own jab a bit when he couldn't at the start. He made it through the rough patches any way he could. Judge Mickey Vann very interestingly didn't see the patches as being particularly rough, as evidenced by his 118-110 scorecard for Pulev.
Middle: While the older man tired through the middle of the fight, Pulev even tested the referee's limits with his grabbing and head-locking, frustrating Thompson, nullifying his attempts to bull his way inside. Personally, I thought referee Neumann was far too lenient on this tactic with Pulev. It was blatant and often for a few rounds. In the end, tactics like that are the responsibility of the referee. The fighter employing the tactics, all competitors will understand, will take their breaks where they can get them, in general. Thompson couldn't outmaneuver Pulev's grabbing overdrive in the mid-rounds but the fight stayed reasonably competitive, even with Thompson no longer controlling it. Pulev's tactic worked in allowing him to blunt and tire Thompson and get down to the stamina rounds, where the younger man was favoured.
Late: Once Pulev got through the rough start, his herky-jerky lead hand feinting began to noticeably disrupt Thompson as much as the grabbing tactics. The straight right and left combos were snapping Thompson's head back on occasion. Pulev's deceptively efficient footwork remained solid, the rust was shaken off, A tired Thompson was no longer much of a puzzle, even though he was still able to sneak shots in and not be walked over, no matter how tired he was. Pulev earned the lead on my card and then the final bell came not long after doing so. Unspectacular but efficient.
Summary: Thompson, who doesn't have particularly fast feet, especially later in the fight, probably got the worst of it when Pulev jumped in with the aforementioned straight right and left combos. It makes me think Pulev paid close attention to Thompson/Klitschko II, as I referenced earlier. Thompson likes to lean back and throw his arms in the way, sometimes leaning back to bait you into one of his straight left counters (which Pulev did get tricked into running straight into, a few times, showing an awfully solid chin) and when Pulev was able to find the right moments to jump in, Thompson was blasted. While Pulev won decisively enough, Tony "The Tiger" Thompson, in his forties now, with some love handles, was never completely out of the fight, despite the rounds he dropped late. Pulev was getting some breaks from the referee, and a bit from Thompson's age, but he still thwarted a crafty adversary and got a decisive win. He earned his shot at the winner of October's Klitschko/Povetkin mega fight. He earned it the honest way.
Unwanted contenders:
It's funny, as I described Pulev and Thompson as both awkward to look at in their styles and messy and difficult for other fighters, it occurs to me it's strange they were the ones to get this eliminator. They'd earned it but it's strange that it came down to those two men. Thompson's post fight interview after the Price rematch may have endeared him to many, as he assured us his training abstinence was going to come to an end and he would break his wife's hip that night, to an amused British television audience and Pulev has his Bulgarian following (can you name another Bulgarian heavyweight contender, ever?). Yet, that said, neither are men who carry much fandom inside the boxing world. No, they're not fan favourites and not only are they not well known and in demand for fans, but they're exactly the type of low-risk/high reward fighters that other contenders haven't wanted to bother fighting or calling out.
Think about this: Even those who like Thompson (he's a likable guy) were all over the Internet proclaiming how awful it would be to see him win against Pulev. Why? Because, unlike Pulev, we've seen Thompson lose against Wladimir Klitschko- twice. People have no interest in Thompson/Klitschko III. They moan and groan when it's brought up. I've seen a total of zero fans who wanted Thompson to get a third shot at the title. Men like Tyson Fury, David Haye, Dereck Chisora, even Tomasz Adamek still, are the wanted contenders right now. They're wanted by other contenders and wanted on television. Pulev and Thompson somehow found each other in an eliminator match when nobody else wanted either of them, it seems. It really was the battle of the unwanted heavyweight contenders.
Pulev's career - appropriate challenges prevail:
Now, to Pulev. The chance he earned is for Wladimir Klitschko's title. However, his fight may not be against Wladimir Klitschko. Wladimir has what could be his toughest fight to date since David Haye in 2011 against Alexander Povetkin. This fight is about five years in the making. It's one of the biggest fights in boxing in 2013 and while Americans may not be aware of its gravity, this is an enormous event in Europe. My honest opinion is that I would favour Kubrat over neither Povetkin (also undefeated) nor Klitschko (who hasn't been defeated since April of 2004) but I caution anyone against writing Kubrat off against either man, as I would writing off Povetkin against Klitschko. You never know when someone's style will do the trick on you. Especially the unusual styles.
Pulev's been brought along the right way. He hasn't been allowed to look like a monster against twenty fighters with more kayo losses than wins. He's not been built up to look like superman with record padding like many heavies are these days. He was given appropriate challenges at the appropriate times, at every turn. His career is the opposite of someone like David Rodriguez or Denis Boytsov, both strong fighters but who have extended ridiculously deceptive undefeated streaks and high kayo ratios without stepping up their competition level much. Kubrat, contrarily, was treated like he could be champion one day, from day one. As a result, nobody thinks he's superman. Because he hasn't been feasting on guys that have no business in the ring with him. He also has had a real career to learn from, with real experience, a real background to prepare him for a title shot. Let's take a brief look at his career:
Debut year, 2009:
In his third match only he faced a man with a 17-2 record, then later a notorious round-survivor/ perfect trial horse in Zack Page. Instead of a waste of time knocking out the most vulnerable F-level fighters to pad his record, he actually faced a man likely to extend him, like all prospects need, before his debut year was up.
2010:
He faced a former European champion/World title challenger in Matt Skelton and one of the most well known gate keepers and one time hot prospect in Dominick Guinn (who has still never been stopped and just fought Adamek).
2011:
He added Derric Rossy and Travis Walker to a solid list of names for any prospect these days.
2012:
The year he became a serious contender, he'd begun by stopping yet another former European champion in Michael Sprott, then earned a top ten Ring ranking by taking then Ring-ranked heavyweight Alexander Dimitrenko, handing him his first stoppage loss via eleventh round jab (highly unusual) and winning the first part of his aggravating eliminator tournament by stopping undefeated Alexander Ustinov...again, via jab, in the eleventh round. I kid you not.
2013:
Wins the eliminator against the already exhaustively described Tony Thompson.
So, in his eighteen professional fights, there's scarcely a single name that I don't recognise and about five fighters who were never stopped before facing Pulev. Kubrat doesn't have a high kayo ratio? No, and perhaps deceptively so. If they wanted to start him out on tomato cans feasts and never stop until he had a 30-0 record with an 80% kayo ratio, then feed him to Klitschko with no experience to fall back on, they probably could have. But, they did the opposite of that and the results, given the context, have been pretty damned good, even if they were ugly at times. Now he's got a shot at the title and the meaningful level of professional experience to give him a shot at actually winning it. Congrats to Pulev. While I'm at it, congrats to Tony Thompson for commanding his own respect with a strong start and a scene-stealer after the final bell. It was the only time I've ever seen a fighter take his trunks off in the ring and walk around for the photographers. Good man, Tony!
Proof:
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Reflecting On Thabiso Mchunu's Shocking (?) Domination of Eddie Chambers, Matters of Heavyweight Size Disparities and Wladimir Klitschko's Career As A "Super" Heavyweight
Mchunu VS Chambers:
In a huge breakout performance this month, Thabiso "The Rock" Mchunu had a close couple rounds that I gave to Chambers to start the fight, but on my card he took all eight following rounds in a very impressive clinic. Class was in session. What was the lesson? It was about making a counter-puncher take the lead, following aimlessly without a target. Eddie Chambers has made a career developing a style to use hand speed and counter-punching against significantly bigger and slower men and last night he was completely, almost ironically, jinxed by a short, stubby southpaw, built like a refrigerator, who gave away no speed disadvantage to speak of, and made him take the lead for the majority of the night, giving him no significant countering opportunities. Mchunu was extremely impressive in an enormous step up in his level of opposition.
Chambers was absolutely baffled by this stylistic challenge and no longer had a speed and maneuverability advantage to apply his style-a style, to say again, which he developed over an entire career, and one which was useless against this smaller man. He could not take the lead. He was frustrated nearly every minute of every round. Mchunu's punches, every one that seemed to land anywhere- gloves, body, head, elbows, seemed to make loud, belting noises. This guy is powerful, quick, smart; he could be the next man to earn a major world title at cruiserweight. Time will tell if Chambers would do much better with a rangier, orthodox cruiserweight (Lebedev comes to mind), or if he simply shouldn't have moved down from heavyweight to begin with, like fans aplenty have assumed he should for years. Or even, sad to say, if he's not close to the end of his career, rather than entering a second phase.
I won't rush to assumptions. It's just one fight, one night. Mchunu could turn out a special fighter at this weight. He's merely 25 now and I hear he's getting many deserved offers on the back of this performance. Chambers could still turn out a championship caliber there, at cruiserweight, as well. We simply do not know. Styles make fights, attributes make fights, and I feel both the supposed size "advantage" Chambers had worked against him as much as the style that was executed to perfection by The Rock.
Aside from the fact that I'm assuming styles played a large part in this outcome, Mchunu really had the performance of the night for me on his NBC Sports card, because only Wladimir Klitschko has dominated Chambers in any way. His other losses (against two championship names in Adamek and Povetkin) were far cries from being dominated. That brings me to a thought on reigning heavyweight champion and former Chambers conqueror Wladimir Klitschko.
Wladimir's thankless job as a big champion:
The thought Chambers VS Mchunu set me to, albeit not for faithfully direct comparison, is that of the all-shapes-and-sizes challenge of the heavyweight division fighters. This challenge can't be found to such extreme physical differences between opponents at any other weight classes. It is also the challenge that many can't understand to be a challenge at all, for a large heavyweight. Wladimir's often not getting credit so much as grumbles and groans for out-finessing smaller opponents (as opposed to blame for not having the unrealistic ability to put them all to sleep in the first round by overpowering them with size, when his "advantage" is large) is something I find funny. Having to fight men of all shapes, sizes, attributes and styles is something that a long-reigning heavyweight champion must usually do with far greater physical extremes than a champion from any other weight class. In doing so, the larger size is not always, and I repeat, not always advantage only, when discussing the larger heavyweights. The assumption that it's simply easier and only easier, without question, across the board, the more height, reach and weight (good weight) you have over your opponent, is a faulty assumption. Because they can pose their own challenges. It's also this faulty assumption I find more often than not when boxing fans discuss his matches, as many of the best contenders have been significantly smaller than Wladimir.
I've heard some people say that it's only a matter of size that makes many of Wlad's fights uncompetitive. Because he is a naturally very large heavyweight. I think about this in seeing a man he dominated and obliterated in Chambers just having been attacked with a similar back-foot, small man game plan which Wladimir has dominated multiple times, including with Chambers, and Chambers couldn't come close to cracking the riddle. Because it takes something in the skill department that many refuse to recognize, in order to not be outmaneuvered and out-hustled by smaller men with presumably more speed of hand and foot and higher capacity for output, as well as flat out having less of a target to offer and an unusual ability to cause the opponent to over-extend and unbalance themselves trying to meet that smaller target.
Smaller men have options to do many things to offset disparities in overall size, the strategies available when the skill level is there. Skills are the issue, not the size alone. Part of boxing success is learning what parts of your game to emphasize, according to your measurements, and that of your opponent. Presumably, in strategy to offset a significantly larger man's strength and range, the option tends to exist in an offensive sense, with the ability to put pressure on a significantly bigger man by using more energy than he's likely to be able to keep up with via punch volume and/or in a defensive sense, exerting more energy in movement than he can in chasing you down, as well as exercising what is normally a higher degree of coordination, with such required mobility. You can reach the targets faster on the inside, where longer arms are a liability or force them to chase you from the outside and give up their height by coming to you in any number of overaggressive mistaken movements that chasing can and usually does lead to.
There's a reason why the heavyweight division is unlimited in weight. Because size is, at this upper level, this maximum level, a self-limiting matter which does not need further regulation by way of more weight classes. It's never proven to, and likely never will, especially after the fully fledged inception of the cruiserweight division in the nineteen-eighties, or at least after its subsequent increase in weight limit. You trade one advantage for another, the larger you are, in the fight game, in its King Division. It's the skill that makes the difference, and the know-how for which skills to use when the man opposing you is drastically changing sizes from fight to fight. Klitschko's skill and know-how (as well as the late Emanuel Steward's know-how) is what has allowed him not to, at any time in the past nine years' streak without defeat, have a night with an Eddie Chambers type- the type that, in a way, Chambers just had with Mchunu. A night where a smaller man using a size disparity to his advantage completely unhinges your game.
For years, we've seen men try to use their smaller stature to advantage with Wladimir, to aid bait-and-counter plans, tucker him out, run him around the ring, or bore their way inside where the lanky Klitschko hates it, or, as I said earlier, to outmaneuver and out-hustle. What's happened in these instances is Wlad has used his incredibly focused skill to defeat them, while tying them in knots on the inside, picking them apart with his jab and long straight rights on the outside, often ripping them up with short left hooks when they can no longer do anything but stand at mid-range, busted up, frustrated, lost and immobile. For years, Wlad has been making these guys look like an assortment of sitting ducks or running fraidy cats by the time of the knockout blow or final bell's ring. The idea that he's only had advantage from being a large heavyweight (one that was known to have stamina issues, mind you, once upon a time), and advantage only, despite watching him skillfully and repeatedly nullify the standard most effective attempts from the top contenders and titlists to offset size disadvantage from men who've made whole heavyweight careers of this brand of offsetting (Haye, Chagaev, Chambers, Byrd, etc) is as wrongheaded as it is strange. You must recognize the result as part of a broad range of challenges, not pushover by way of size disparity.
There are reasons why Nikolay Valuev is not the division's king for the second longest reign with a major title in the division's history and Wladimir is. There are reasons why Eddie Chambers dazzled in possibly his most impressive performance against a Wladimir-sized, undefeated heavyweight in Alexander Dimitrenko, then followed that with a lopsided loss to Klitschko himself. There's a reason why Ray Austin got a draw with Sultan Ibragimov and both Ibragimov and Austin were dominated by Klitschko afterward. There's a reason why there are dozens of Klitschko-sized and bigger names fighting since Klitschko's debut to not come near his performance record in that time. Skill. Not size. Because size is self-limiting and part of a give and take when it comes to advantages in the heavyweight division.
Why didn't Jameel McCline, Michael Grant, Audley Harrison, Francesco Pianeta, Mariusz Wach, Tony Thompson, Alexander Ustinov, Ray Austin, Lance Whitaker, Henry Akinwande, Derrick Jefferson, Tye Fields, Timo Hoffman, Nicolai Firtha, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, Paea Wolfgramm, Julius Long or any of these other dozens of Klitschko-sized men, having wildly varying degrees of success, perform with similar results against top shelf smaller contenders or otherwise? Not only did Wlad even beat several of those men, and several men to beat several of those men, but his record against the better smaller men is quite a bit above theirs. Skill. It takes skills of all kinds to dominate all sizes. And whether anyone's ready to admit it or not, Wlad's skill has been impressive and praiseworthy in the matches with his smallest opponents, just as much as those of his large stature. He's usually beaten them in ways no one else his size or any size has.
In closing, hearty congratulations to Mchunu, an exciting new face to the cruiserweight division and boxing television, hopefully, a long tip of the hat to our long-reigning heavyweight champion in Klitschko The Younger and all the larger heavies that have a similar appreciation issue with fans, and a "let's wait and see, chin up" to new cruiserweight and former heavyweight contender Eddie Chambers, coming off a surprisingly (?) difficult night. Most everyone has a horrible day at the office, eventually. I'm just glad mine haven't been televised.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
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In a huge breakout performance this month, Thabiso "The Rock" Mchunu had a close couple rounds that I gave to Chambers to start the fight, but on my card he took all eight following rounds in a very impressive clinic. Class was in session. What was the lesson? It was about making a counter-puncher take the lead, following aimlessly without a target. Eddie Chambers has made a career developing a style to use hand speed and counter-punching against significantly bigger and slower men and last night he was completely, almost ironically, jinxed by a short, stubby southpaw, built like a refrigerator, who gave away no speed disadvantage to speak of, and made him take the lead for the majority of the night, giving him no significant countering opportunities. Mchunu was extremely impressive in an enormous step up in his level of opposition.
Chambers was absolutely baffled by this stylistic challenge and no longer had a speed and maneuverability advantage to apply his style-a style, to say again, which he developed over an entire career, and one which was useless against this smaller man. He could not take the lead. He was frustrated nearly every minute of every round. Mchunu's punches, every one that seemed to land anywhere- gloves, body, head, elbows, seemed to make loud, belting noises. This guy is powerful, quick, smart; he could be the next man to earn a major world title at cruiserweight. Time will tell if Chambers would do much better with a rangier, orthodox cruiserweight (Lebedev comes to mind), or if he simply shouldn't have moved down from heavyweight to begin with, like fans aplenty have assumed he should for years. Or even, sad to say, if he's not close to the end of his career, rather than entering a second phase.
I won't rush to assumptions. It's just one fight, one night. Mchunu could turn out a special fighter at this weight. He's merely 25 now and I hear he's getting many deserved offers on the back of this performance. Chambers could still turn out a championship caliber there, at cruiserweight, as well. We simply do not know. Styles make fights, attributes make fights, and I feel both the supposed size "advantage" Chambers had worked against him as much as the style that was executed to perfection by The Rock.
Aside from the fact that I'm assuming styles played a large part in this outcome, Mchunu really had the performance of the night for me on his NBC Sports card, because only Wladimir Klitschko has dominated Chambers in any way. His other losses (against two championship names in Adamek and Povetkin) were far cries from being dominated. That brings me to a thought on reigning heavyweight champion and former Chambers conqueror Wladimir Klitschko.
Wladimir's thankless job as a big champion:
The thought Chambers VS Mchunu set me to, albeit not for faithfully direct comparison, is that of the all-shapes-and-sizes challenge of the heavyweight division fighters. This challenge can't be found to such extreme physical differences between opponents at any other weight classes. It is also the challenge that many can't understand to be a challenge at all, for a large heavyweight. Wladimir's often not getting credit so much as grumbles and groans for out-finessing smaller opponents (as opposed to blame for not having the unrealistic ability to put them all to sleep in the first round by overpowering them with size, when his "advantage" is large) is something I find funny. Having to fight men of all shapes, sizes, attributes and styles is something that a long-reigning heavyweight champion must usually do with far greater physical extremes than a champion from any other weight class. In doing so, the larger size is not always, and I repeat, not always advantage only, when discussing the larger heavyweights. The assumption that it's simply easier and only easier, without question, across the board, the more height, reach and weight (good weight) you have over your opponent, is a faulty assumption. Because they can pose their own challenges. It's also this faulty assumption I find more often than not when boxing fans discuss his matches, as many of the best contenders have been significantly smaller than Wladimir.
I've heard some people say that it's only a matter of size that makes many of Wlad's fights uncompetitive. Because he is a naturally very large heavyweight. I think about this in seeing a man he dominated and obliterated in Chambers just having been attacked with a similar back-foot, small man game plan which Wladimir has dominated multiple times, including with Chambers, and Chambers couldn't come close to cracking the riddle. Because it takes something in the skill department that many refuse to recognize, in order to not be outmaneuvered and out-hustled by smaller men with presumably more speed of hand and foot and higher capacity for output, as well as flat out having less of a target to offer and an unusual ability to cause the opponent to over-extend and unbalance themselves trying to meet that smaller target.
Smaller men have options to do many things to offset disparities in overall size, the strategies available when the skill level is there. Skills are the issue, not the size alone. Part of boxing success is learning what parts of your game to emphasize, according to your measurements, and that of your opponent. Presumably, in strategy to offset a significantly larger man's strength and range, the option tends to exist in an offensive sense, with the ability to put pressure on a significantly bigger man by using more energy than he's likely to be able to keep up with via punch volume and/or in a defensive sense, exerting more energy in movement than he can in chasing you down, as well as exercising what is normally a higher degree of coordination, with such required mobility. You can reach the targets faster on the inside, where longer arms are a liability or force them to chase you from the outside and give up their height by coming to you in any number of overaggressive mistaken movements that chasing can and usually does lead to.
There's a reason why the heavyweight division is unlimited in weight. Because size is, at this upper level, this maximum level, a self-limiting matter which does not need further regulation by way of more weight classes. It's never proven to, and likely never will, especially after the fully fledged inception of the cruiserweight division in the nineteen-eighties, or at least after its subsequent increase in weight limit. You trade one advantage for another, the larger you are, in the fight game, in its King Division. It's the skill that makes the difference, and the know-how for which skills to use when the man opposing you is drastically changing sizes from fight to fight. Klitschko's skill and know-how (as well as the late Emanuel Steward's know-how) is what has allowed him not to, at any time in the past nine years' streak without defeat, have a night with an Eddie Chambers type- the type that, in a way, Chambers just had with Mchunu. A night where a smaller man using a size disparity to his advantage completely unhinges your game.
For years, we've seen men try to use their smaller stature to advantage with Wladimir, to aid bait-and-counter plans, tucker him out, run him around the ring, or bore their way inside where the lanky Klitschko hates it, or, as I said earlier, to outmaneuver and out-hustle. What's happened in these instances is Wlad has used his incredibly focused skill to defeat them, while tying them in knots on the inside, picking them apart with his jab and long straight rights on the outside, often ripping them up with short left hooks when they can no longer do anything but stand at mid-range, busted up, frustrated, lost and immobile. For years, Wlad has been making these guys look like an assortment of sitting ducks or running fraidy cats by the time of the knockout blow or final bell's ring. The idea that he's only had advantage from being a large heavyweight (one that was known to have stamina issues, mind you, once upon a time), and advantage only, despite watching him skillfully and repeatedly nullify the standard most effective attempts from the top contenders and titlists to offset size disadvantage from men who've made whole heavyweight careers of this brand of offsetting (Haye, Chagaev, Chambers, Byrd, etc) is as wrongheaded as it is strange. You must recognize the result as part of a broad range of challenges, not pushover by way of size disparity.
There are reasons why Nikolay Valuev is not the division's king for the second longest reign with a major title in the division's history and Wladimir is. There are reasons why Eddie Chambers dazzled in possibly his most impressive performance against a Wladimir-sized, undefeated heavyweight in Alexander Dimitrenko, then followed that with a lopsided loss to Klitschko himself. There's a reason why Ray Austin got a draw with Sultan Ibragimov and both Ibragimov and Austin were dominated by Klitschko afterward. There's a reason why there are dozens of Klitschko-sized and bigger names fighting since Klitschko's debut to not come near his performance record in that time. Skill. Not size. Because size is self-limiting and part of a give and take when it comes to advantages in the heavyweight division.
Why didn't Jameel McCline, Michael Grant, Audley Harrison, Francesco Pianeta, Mariusz Wach, Tony Thompson, Alexander Ustinov, Ray Austin, Lance Whitaker, Henry Akinwande, Derrick Jefferson, Tye Fields, Timo Hoffman, Nicolai Firtha, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, Paea Wolfgramm, Julius Long or any of these other dozens of Klitschko-sized men, having wildly varying degrees of success, perform with similar results against top shelf smaller contenders or otherwise? Not only did Wlad even beat several of those men, and several men to beat several of those men, but his record against the better smaller men is quite a bit above theirs. Skill. It takes skills of all kinds to dominate all sizes. And whether anyone's ready to admit it or not, Wlad's skill has been impressive and praiseworthy in the matches with his smallest opponents, just as much as those of his large stature. He's usually beaten them in ways no one else his size or any size has.
In closing, hearty congratulations to Mchunu, an exciting new face to the cruiserweight division and boxing television, hopefully, a long tip of the hat to our long-reigning heavyweight champion in Klitschko The Younger and all the larger heavies that have a similar appreciation issue with fans, and a "let's wait and see, chin up" to new cruiserweight and former heavyweight contender Eddie Chambers, coming off a surprisingly (?) difficult night. Most everyone has a horrible day at the office, eventually. I'm just glad mine haven't been televised.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
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Bulgarian Jab Artist Kubrat Pulev Takes Ugly Win Over Tony Thompson, Earns Challenge For Heavyweight Title
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