Cook, Macca Knocked Out in Manchester
March 14, 2009
Things did not get off to a good start for British fighters on the undercard of the Amir Khan – Marco Antonio Barrera fight in Manchester Saturday.
WBO junior lightweight titlist Nicky Cook was knocked out in the fourth round by Roman Martinez, while local favorite Enzo Maccarinelli was suddenly stopped by Ola Afolabi in the ninth round.
Cook was actually a slight underdog against Martinez, and had his hands full from the start. Martinez landed two solid uppercuts in the fourth round to drop the champion, but Cook would beat the count and continue. Not for long though, as Martinez continued his assault, eventually getting dropped again by a left hand. He again beat the count, but the referee waived off the fight at the 2:20 mark of round number two.
As for Enzo, he came out and was in control throughout almost the entire fight. Afolabi hurt him in the third, but Macca came back strong in the fourth. Maccarinelli would take control of the fight at that point, controlling the fight into the ninth round.
In the ninth, however, Afolabi landed a perfect counter right hand to Enzo’s jaw, dropping the Welsh fighter instantly. Enzo was in complete control of the fight, but was suddenly knocked out with a perfect punch, bringing the fight to a shocking conclusion.
Maccarinelli was a -1300 favorite, making this a very sizable upset.
Bad start to the night for the British fans.
Alvarado Delivers KO of the Year Candidate
March 8, 2009
Inside the final ten seconds of the tenth and final round, Mike Alvarado was on his way to an easy decision win, and Emmanuel Clottey was just seconds away from achieving his apparent goal of going the distance.
But with just seconds remaining in the fight, Alvarado connected with a perfect right hand to the chin, crumbling Clottey upon himself out cold.
Clottey remained on the canvas for several minutes in rough shape before being assisted up and out of the ring.
Alvarado improves to 25-0, with 18 KOs, while Clottey falls to 24-9, with 14 KOs.
Watch the video here:
Kirkland, Ortiz Shine on BAD
March 7, 2009
James Kirkland delivered his best performance in his biggest fight, stopping Joel Julio when Julio quit on his stool after the sixth round. Julio landed a few solid punches, but was generally unable to deal with Kirkland’s aggression and volume.
The fight started with Kirkland pushing the action, forcing his way inside on Julio and smothering Julio’s ability to throw punches. Any time they created separation, Julio was able to sneak his right hand in on Kirkland, but no sooner did it land that Kirkland seemed to be back on top of him.
By the end of the third round, Julio was cut over his right eye and getting more and more tired. Kirkland continued to smother everything Julio did, physically break him down. By the fifth and sixth rounds, Julio’s offensive attempts were few and far between, as Kirkland was the only one coming forward and he really brought the fight to Julio.
After the sixth round, Julio appeared to tell the referee that he’d had enough and without hesitation, the bout was stopped.
Kirkland improves to 25-0, with 22 KOs, while Julio falls to 34-3 with 31 KOs.
In the undercard to the main event, Victor Ortiz was once again absolutely dominant, stopping Mike Arnauotis in the second round. At just 22-years old, Ortiz outclassed the veteran from the opening bell, landing a brutal left hand midway through the second round that sent Arnauotis back into the corner. Ortiz jumped all over him to force the referee to jump in and stop the action at the 1:27 mark of the second. Ortiz improves to 24-1-1, with 19 KOs with the win, while Arnauotis falls to 21-3-1 with 10 KOs in defeat.
In the first fight of the HBO telecast, Robert Guerrero and Daud Yordan battled for two rounds before an accidental headbutt caused a cut over Guerrero’s eye. Upon the advice from the doctor, and Guerrero’s admission that he couldn’t see out of the eye, the referee stopped the fight, making it a no-contest.
Troy Ross Wins Contender Finale
February 25, 2009
Troy Ross scored a fourth round TKO victory over Ehinomen “Hino” Ehikhamenor at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods in Connecticut Wednesday night in the finale of The Contender reality boxing series on Versus.
Ross, (21-1, 15 KOs) landed a perfect combination, sending Ehikhamenor (15-4, 7) slumping into the corner, forcing Steve “Double S” Smoger to call a halt to the fight one minute into the fourth.
Both men had their moments as the first three-and-a-half rounds were pretty close. In the fourth round, Ross unloaded with a flurry, which set up a perfect right-left combination hand that ended the fight.
The series was filmed in Singapore this season, with 16 cruiserweights living together and fighting each other in five-round fights until just the two finalists remained.
Ross becomes the fourth Contender champion, following Sergio Mora, Grady Brewer and Sakio Bika in previous seasons. This was the first season on Versus, following three years on ESPN, with the first season starting out on NBC.
Darchinyan Stops Arce in Slugfest
February 7, 2009
Vic Darchinyan threw everything but the kitchen sink at Jorge Arce, but Arce just wouldn’t fall down. Hell, he wouldn’t even stop coming forward. It took the ring doctor to call a halt to the fight, stopping it prior to the 12th round.
Darchinyan was in control for nearly the entire fight. He stalked Arce and won seemingly every exchange. There were a few rough patches early, but once Vic opened it up, Arce had no chance.
Darchinyan came out and boxed well while picking his spots to unload his monster left hand. He connected several times in the first two rounds and it looked like it could be a quick night for the southpaw.
Things changed in the third round when Arce caught Darchinyan with a combination, briefly staggering the champion. Darchinyan held on for a minute and seemed to get his legs back under him before the round was over.
In the first half of the fight, it seemed that whoever was the counterpuncher had control of each exchange, but as Darchinyan broke Arce down, he took control of nearly every situation.
At that point, the fight took on the look of a classic slugfest, not in the least bit aesthetically pleasing, but classic in its own right. Both men were willing to trade, but Darchinyan all too often got the better of the exchanges. With the lefty-righty matchup, there were plenty of feet stepping on each other and multiple headbutts, causing a cut on Darchinyan’s head. Arce too was covered in blood, but it was unclear how much of it was from heads and elbows and how much was from lefts and rights.
Arce battled valiantly, even when it appeared that he had no chance on the scorecards and lacked the pop to knock Darchinyan out with one big punch. He showed tremendous heart and above all, a tremendous chin, even earning praise from the always tough-talking Darchinyan.
For all of the pre-fight trash talk (lasting nearly three years), both of the fighters were extremely gracious after the fight. Arce was obviously disappointed in the stoppage, but was complimentary of the victor’s strength and skill, while Darchinyan praised Arce’s chin and toughness, telling someone off camera after the fight just how badly Arce would beat them if they fought.
Darchinyan improves to 32-1-1 with 26 knockouts, while Arce drops to 51-5-1 with 39 KOs.
All three judges had the fight 109-100 at the time of the stoppage, and the official time of the stoppage was 3:00 of round 11.
Darchinyan’s lone loss was to Nonito Donaire, leading Jim Gray to ask Vic about a potential rematch after the fight. While Darchinyan expressed his desire to avenge his only loss, his promoter, Gary Shaw, made it abundantly clear that a rematch won’t be happening. Shaw is bitter at Donaire over personal business issues and won’t make the fight. If there could be a clearer example of what’s wrong with boxing, I don’t know what it is. Let the fighter attempt to avenge his loss in the best fight that can be made. Put your personal issues aside. If you can’t do that, get the hell out of the business.
*****
On the undercard, lightweight prospect Antonio DeMarco stopped Almazbek “Kid Diamond” Raiymkulov, when Raiymkulov retired after nine rounds with what appeared to be a broken nose.
Ward, Molina Win on ShoBox
February 7, 2009
LEMOORE, Calif. (Feb. 7, 2009) – Undefeated Andre Ward (18-0, 12 KOs) pitched a 12-round shutout over outclassed Henry Buchanan (17-2, 12 KOs) of Chesterfield, S.C., to capture the vacant North American Boxing Federation (NABF) and North American Boxing Organization (NABO) super middleweight titles Friday in the main event on ShoBox: The New Generation.
Unbeaten John “John” Molina (15-0, 11 KOs) of Covina, Calif. flattened Ghana’s Joshua Allotey (15-7, 13 KOs) at 1:28 of the third round in the ShoBox co-feature.
The doubleheader aired on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast). It was promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions from The Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino.
After dismissing Buchanan in seemingly effortless fashion – he won by 120-108 on the three judges’ scorecards — both Ward and his promoter, Dan Goossen, reiterated what many have been saying: it is time for the only boxer from the United States to capture a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games to test his vast skills against a top-level opponent.
“We’re ready to Glen Johnson, Jermain Taylor or, of course, any of the champions,’’ Goossen said. “I know Andre is ready to come right back in April, early May at the latest. I think Andre is the best, most talented 168-pounder in the world and I can’t wait until he gets the chance to prove it.’’
Offered Ward: “I’m excited about the future. I’m ready for the top guy(s) now. This fight was just a prelude to what’s ahead. The right doors will open. I want to be a seasoned champ and I want to reign.
“You need to understand there are a lot of components to making a fight. First, you need the consent from a boxer that he’ll fight. Then, you need to get a network to buy it. And so on ….
“But for me it is all about winning and learning. I expected a whole lot more from Buchanan, but he walked into the ring in survival mode. He’s a tough, seasoned fighter but I think he read me wrong from the beginning.
“He’d made comments about me being a slick, pretty boy but I don’t know where he got that from. I am tough in the ring. I wanted to set the tone by meeting him in the center of the ring at the sound of the first bell. I wanted to let him know that if I am not hitting him I am still going to be in your face.
“I had Buchanan off balance the whole fight (Ward switched to southpaw a few times) and I was alert the entire 36 minutes. It’s a lot of stress on the mind and body, but I kept alert.
“I know I could have used the left hook more, but Buchanan was loading up, looking to land that one home run punch. But I didn’t want to give him that chance. It’s much better to come out with a win than to get reckless and possibly lose.’’
After a show-and-tell first round, the promising Molina dominated. At one stage in the second round, he delivered something like 28 consecutive shots before Allotey retaliated.
Early in the third, Allotey went down in a heap from a punch he claimed was south of the border. Although replays indicated otherwise, a grimacing Allotey remained on the canvas for about two-and-one-half minutes. Shortly after the match resumed, Molina connected with a picturesque left hook to the liver and that was that.
“I feel like I knocked him out twice in the same round,’’ Molina said. “I didn’t hit him low. He was just trying to buy time. But it backfired and worked against him because the longer he stayed down the more irritated I got. My trainer, Joe Goossen, and I have been working on that punch.’’
SHOWTIME will replay Friday’s telecast next Thursday, Feb. 12, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHO 2.
Old Man Robbed By Giant in Europe
December 21, 2008
A 46-year old man was robbed in Switzerland Saturday, falling victim to a 7-foot tall beast.
The victim, identified as Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield, was robbed of a win against Russian Nicolai Valuev in one of the worst “title” fights in the history of boxing.
Let me make on thing clear — Holyfield won the fight, but it wasn’t the shutout that you are bound to read about around the rest of the Interwebs. Holyfield was the busier and more effective fighter, and should have been awarded the victory by default, but alas, another American fighter will fly back over the pond empty handed.
It’s not that Holyfield was good — far from it. It’s that for most of the fight, he was the only one trying. Valuev was content to throw three jabs a round, and occasionally mix in a power punch during a clinch. Holyfield danced around, occasionally pressing the action and mixing it up a bit on the inside when he could get there. Neither one did anything to win the fight, but Valuev certainly did more to lose it.
The fight was reminiscent of the Westley, the man in black, fighting Fezzik (Andre the Giant) in the Princess Bride. I’m pretty sure at one point Holyfield crawled through Valuev’s legs and attacked him from behind upon surprising him.
For as much as Holyfield deserved to win the fight, it should be pointed out that it was a terrible fight, and to subject anyone to watching a rematch between these two could only be considered torture and/or sleep therapy. Holyfield has a chance right now to go out with a little bit of pride, and he should take it.
It’s truly time for Holyfield to hang them up. His only options to win a belt, which is all he really wants, are a rematch with Valuev (he’d have to knock him out to win a decision next time), Ruslan Chagaev, another decision he won’t win in Europe, or one of the Klitschkos. Fighting either one of them is a very bad idea for Evander.
Right now, Holyfield has a chance to go out with some pride, a situation he hasn’t seen in nearly a many years. Get out now while you still have a chance, Evander. You’re not getting any less punch drunk by getting in the ring with guys that outweigh you by 100 pounds. The heavyweight division has passed Holyfield by, and the time to leave is now.
It was a hell of a career, but I can’t imagine Holyfield going out on a higher note than this controversial loss. And that, in and of itself, is a sad, sad thing.