Showing posts with label boxing glove. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

'Rocky' Martinez Vs. Vasyl Lomachenko: Boxing Preview & Prediction

By Stephen Donatelli

Saturday’s main event on HBO, for the WBO World junior lightweight title, may have the casual fan scratching their head when they see that it is the challenger, Vasyl Lomachenko, rather than the champion, 'Rocky' Martinez, who is the favorite to win. Especially when they see that the defending champion (who is a 10-1 underdog) has a (29-2-3, 17koes) record, compared with his challenger’s extremely brief record (5-1, 3koes.)

However, Vasyl ’Hi-Tech’ Lomachenko shrugs at anyone doubting him because of his short professional record, when he has one of the greatest amateur records in the history of the sport. He is easily one of the top 5 best amateurs in history, with his astonishing official record of 396-1, and that lone loss to Albert Selminov, was avenged twice. His record also includes two Olympic Gold Medals in 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) at Featherweight and Lightweight.

The Southpaw Lomachenko should control this affair from the very start, and make a statement with this fight to the winner of the upcoming, and highly anticipated, Leo Santa Cruz vs. Carl Frampton for the WBA world featherweight title on July 30th.

‘Hi-Tech’ wants to reveal to the world that he can just about do it all, despite such a limited professional career.

While Martinez is the defending champion, he is still rough around the edges, and was stopped by Mikey Garcia, and dropped a decision to Ricky Burns. Rocky will likely be punching more empty air, than landing much upon Lomachenko come Saturday night. Rocky will plod forward, looking to pull off a sizeable upset.

Yet, Lomachenko, with his amazing accuracy and outstanding footwork, looks like he will have the defending WBO champion’s face messed up again, in a short time, just as it was twice against Orlando Salido. A shut out is not completely out of the question, as ‘Hi-Tech’ Lomachenko, once again snatches another title, and wins by a wide unanimous decision, over ‘Rocky’ Martinez.

*Stephen Donatelli is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and contributes to www.theboxingglove.com. If you would like to contact him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steved2012?fref=nf

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#‎BoxingNews‬ ‪#‎TheBoxingGlove‬ ‪#‎TheBoxingGloveNews‬ ‪#Prediction #TheGarden ‪#‎Boxing‬ ‪#‎Boxeo‬ #Donatelli Stephen D. Donatelli @MartinezLomachenko @MadisonSquareGarden @TheGarden

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Please Help the Henry Armstrong Foundation Fight Hunger

HENRY ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION,INC.

"Join The Fight For Those Who Are Less Fortunate"

For more information on the Henry Armstrong Foundation please visit www.henryarmstrongfoundation.org.

Henry Armstrong Foundation Holiday Community Food Program!!!

Donations Needed To Provide Food For Those In Need This Thanksgiving Holiday Season.

#fighthunger

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Jamie Cox Crushes Ferenc Albert: Calls Out The Best At 168 Pounds

By Peter Silkov

After a stop and start career, which saw him sidelined by injuries in 2012 and 2014, Jamie Cox (20-0, 12koes) is a man in a hurry, and proved it again last night when he successfully defended his WBO European super-middleweight title with a clinical 68 second knockout at Dublin’s National Stadium. Hungarian challenger, Ferenc Albert (20-8, 9koes), barely got the chance to throw a punch before Cox’s punches had him on the floor. The first knockdown came from a right hook to the head, which seemed to just clip Ferenc. Ferenc bravely beat the count, but was then flattened by another right hook that caught him squarely on the jaw, and sent him down with a thud, with his head bouncing on the canvas. It was a nasty knockout, and unsurprisingly, referee Mickey Vann abandoned the count at two. This was Cox’s 3rd straight 1st round knockout since his return from his period of inactivity, which has seen him have just 4 fights in the past four years.

Originally a light-middleweight and ex-Commonwealth champion at that weight, Cox has come back from his spells of enforced absence a more muscular and stronger fighter, whose mixture of speed and power at super-middleweight is fast making him one of the most talked 168-pound fighters in the country. It’s not so much who he has beaten, but the way he has been beating them. Albert was a respectable opponent who had won his last 10 fights, and in contrast to Cox, was having his 13th fight this year. Unfortunately for Albert, it turned out to be unlucky 13 for him, as he never had a chance against Cox’s sizzling power.

At the age of 29, Cox is in a hurry to make up for lost time, and says that he is ready for anyone now at 168 pounds. In Liverpool on the same night, Callum Smith produced a spectacular performance of his own, to stop his Liverpool rival, Rocky Fielding, in the 1st round, and claim the vacant British super-middleweight title. There may well be a clamour now for a showdown between Smith and Cox, in what could be a huge domestic match. After his performance against Ferenc, Cox was in no doubt about his credentials, telling Box Nation, in his post fight interview:

“If that was Smith or Fielding in there tonight they’d have been knocked out as well. The winner out of those two is not the best in the country and the public know it. I have too much power for them. I’m the best and when I get my chance I’ll prove it.

After being out of the ring for a while, I’ve returned this year with three first round knockouts, I mean serious business at super-middleweight, and I’m going to win a world title. I’ll fight anyone at 168 pounds in the world right now, give me the opportunity and I’ll prove it! That’s a promise!”

Ironically, Cox’s biggest problem at the moment is his recent devastating success. He has gone less than 3 competitive rounds in the past 2 years, and could do with more rounds under his belt before he challenges for a world title, but perhaps unsurprisingly, 168-pound fighters are not exactly lining up asking to fight Cox.
The answer could well be a showdown with Callum Smith, if boxing politics allow it. Yet, that too looks like a fight which could end early.

Certainly Cox is an exciting addition to the 168-pound scene, which at the moment seems to be exploding domestically with possible world class talent. There is James Degale, who already holds a world title at 168-pounds (the IBF title) then a little way behind Degale is George Groves, who was very unlucky not to win the WBC title recently against Badou Jack, and Martin Murray, who challenges veteran WBO champion Arthur Abraham, on November 21st. Now, both Callum Smith and Jamie Cox are vying to break through into world class in the very near future.

The chances are that Britain will end up with at least one or two more world champions at 168-pounds in the next few months.

Hopefully, Cox won’t have to wait long to prove his worth on a bigger stage, against a world class opponent. It may be too early to say just how good Jamie Cox is, but his speed and punching power alone, looks to give him a chance at just about anyone at the weight. What he needs now though is more demanding opposition. The next year looks set to be an explosive one at 168-pounds.

Watch Full Fight:

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Tim Bradley Breaks Ironman Rios in 9th Round: Rios Retires

Photo Source: HBO Boxing

By Peter Silkov

Timothy Bradley Jr. successfully defended his WBO world Welterweight Championship tonight with a conclusive 9th round stoppage of Brandon Rios at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas . It was a lively performance by Bradley, who was having his first fight with new trainer, Teddy Atlas. After starting the fight looking as if he was going to go toe-to-toe with Rios, Bradley adjusted his approach. He began using the ring more, moving in and out, and giving Rios a lot of angles.

Bradley’s movement and hand speed troubled Rios from the beginning. Even when the two men were up close on the inside, the only place where Rios could hope to win the fight, Bradley was still having the better of things with his superior hand speed. While Bradley looked sharp and focused through out the fight, Rios wore the look of a man who really wished to be somewhere else. Never known for his self discipline outside of the ring, the news that Rios weighed as high as 171 on the night of the fight must pose grave doubts about his fitness going into the fight and the methods that were used to help him get down to the welterweight limit the previous day.

After managing to stay with Bradley for the early rounds, Rios began to visibly wane with each passing minute, and by the 6th round, he had little left in the tank. At this point, Rios’s main response to Bradley’s punches was a weak smile as if the shots were not hurting him, yet as the rounds went on it, it became obvious that Rios’s almost notorious punch resistance, was wearing down. When the end came, it was Rios’s stomach that let him down, rather than his iron chin. Several blows by Bradley had Rios crumpled up on his knees, and even though he beat the count, another sharp attack by Bradley sent Rios down again, and this time Referee Tony Weeks had seen enough, and mercifully waved the fight over.

For the rejuvenated Bradley, the future holds the promise of several big fights in a division now seemingly free of Floyd Mayweather Jr., and full of a number of top boxers, whom over the next few months, will be seeking to prove that they are the new number one at 147 pounds.

For Rios the future seems much grimmer, certainly from the point of view of his boxing career. Rios is a very marketable fighter because of his fan-friendly style, but tonight, after the first three rounds, he looked like a washed up fighter. He had no snap in his punches, and no bounce in his legs. Indeed, his demeanor throughout the fight was disturbingly detached. Directly after the contest, Rios announced his retirement to HBO’s Max Kellerman, which is probably his wisest move after this showing.

Rios told Kellerman “"I don't wanna hurt my body, I don't wanna hurt my family, I don't wanna hurt my close friends around me, so I think it's time to hang up the gloves."

In all, it was great night for Bradley, but some of the shine will have been lost from his victory due to the dubious conditioning of Rios. The whole issue of weight making and the huge amounts of weight that are lost and gained by fighters in the run up to their fights, needs to be looked into urgently, before a fighter suffers a serious injury as a direct result of this dangerous game. Tonight, Brandon Rios looked at times as if he was in danger of being seriously hurt. Ironically, the body blows that stopped him in the 9th round, may well have saved him from a much more serious beating.

WATCH FULL FIGHT:

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Nonpareil: The Original Jack Dempsey

Remembering…Nonpareil Jack Dempsey
December 15, 1862 - November 2, 1895

By Peter Silkov

Long Before the ‘Manassa Mauler’ Jack Dempsey reigned as World heavyweight champion in the 1920s, there was ‘Nonpareil’ Jack Dempsey. This Dempsey was considered one of the greatest boxers ever seen, pound-for-pound. Fast and clever, with a good punch, Dempsey was a boxer-puncher who was decades ahead of his time in his ring generalship. Dempsey could adapt to any style of opponent, and in his prime, he ranked only below heavyweight champion John L Sullivan in fame and popularity. Technically, he was a far greater fighter than Sullivan, and many boxing followers at that time believed that he would be able to beat Sullivan if he was just a stone or so heavier than the 152 pounds, which he weighed at his prime. Fans gave him the name "Nonpareil" because he was considered unrivaled in his fistic prowess.

Nonpareil was the first internationally recognized World Middleweight champion, and helped bring acceptance and recognition to the middleweight division at a time when the heavyweights dominated boxing.

Dempsey was born in Curran, County Kildare, Ireland, on December 15, 1862, but grew up in Brooklyn, New York, after his family moved to America while he was still very young. Dempsey’s real name was John Edward Kelly, and it is not clear why he changed his name to Jack Dempsey, but it is likely to be because he did not want his family to know that he was boxing. After training to be an apprentice Cooper, Dempsey began to box for pay in 1883.

In just over a year, Dempsey had picked up the Lightweight championship of New York and then the Lightweight Championship of America. On February 3, 1886, Dempsey knocked out John Forgarty out in the 27th round to win the Middleweight Championship of America. One month later, The Nonpareil knocked out George Lablanche in the 13th round, and gained recognition as the World middleweight champion. Dempsey was to hold this title until 1891. In August 1899, Dempsey was knocked out in the 32nd round by George Lablanche, but retained his status as the World middleweight champion as Lablanche had weighed in for the fights at 161 pounds, over the middleweight limit. Lablanche had also knocked Dempsey out with the illegal ‘pivot’ punch. Other than this dubious setback, Dempsey reigned supreme at middleweight until January 14th, 1891, when Bob Fitzsimmons shockingly beat him in 13 rounds. In what was a sensational result at the time, the gangling and freckled Fitzsimmons handed Dempsey a terrible beating, and the Nonpareil gave a great exhibition of courage to last as long as he did, before he was finally pulled out by his corner-men in the 13th round.

Fitzsimmons would go on to become one of the greatest fighters in the ring, and the first man to win world titles at 3 weights, however for Dempsey, it was all tragically downhill after his defeat by Fitzsimmons. After he lost his world championship, Dempsey’s life went into a downward spiral, he started to drink heavily, and then contracted Tuberculosis. He would fight just 3 more times, winning once. His last fight was on January 18 1895, against the Welterweight world champion, Tommy Ryan. Dempsey’s condition and display in the ring was so poor that he was unmercifully jeered and booed from the ring after the fight had been mercifully stopped in the 3rd round. Nine months later, on November 2 (some sources say Nov 1st) 1895, the Nonpareil died of tuberculosis, at just 32.

Nonpareil Jack Dempsey’s final record was 54(23koes)-4-11.

Boxing Heavyweight Sinan Samil Sam Passes at age 41

By Peter Silkov

The Boxing Glove is sad to report that the former European Heavyweight Champion, Sinan Samil Sam, is reported to have passed away Tuesday, October 20, 2015, in Istanbul of liver failure. Sam was being treated at the Marmara University Pendik Training Research Hospital in Istanbul, and was on the waiting list for a liver transplant.

During his boxing career, Sam was a strong and durable fighter who was always in entertaining fights because of his aggressive, pressing, style. Nicknamed the ‘Bull from Bospoous,’ he was born in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 23, 1974, to Turkish parents. After an amateur career, which saw him win the Junior World championship at light-heavyweight in 1992, and the World championship at Super-Heavyweight in 1999, Sam turned professional in 2000, and in the course of his professional career would fight some of the best heavyweights in the world.

Sam was technically solid and very rugged, with a good punch and an excellent chin. In the course of his 8 year professional career, Sam would win the European heavyweight title twice, and also hold the WBC International and WBC Mediterranean titles.

In what was probably his most impressive performance, Sam stopped the usually very durable Danny Williams in 6 rounds on February 8, 2003, in defence of his European title, which he had won 4 months earlier.

Sam’s main problem during his professional career seemed to be that he wasn’t always in top condition physically, with his weight fluctuating from 230 to over 250 pounds. There's little doubt with his pressure fighting style, that he was a better fighter when he was lighter. Yet, whatever his conditioning going into a fight Sam always gave his all once he got into the ring. Sam showed his heart in his 2005 defeat to Oleg Maskaev, when he managed to last the distance, despite suffering a broken jaw in the 2nd round.

Sam fought heavyweights such as Premyslaw Saleta, Danny Williams, Juan Carlos Gomez, Luan Krasniqi, Denis Bakhtov, Lawrence Clay Bey, Oleg Maskaev, Oliver McCall and Paolo Vidoz.
Ironically Sam never got to fight for a world title, though many less qualified heavyweights have received title shots. Sam’s last chance at a world title shot was lost on June 16, 2007, when he was out-pointed by a 42 year old Oliver McCall, losing his WBC International Heavyweight title.

Sam would win his final 4 contests, with his last fight taking place on July 4, 2008, when he regained the European Heavyweight title by outpointing Paolo Vidoz. Sam never fought again. His final record was 31(16koes)-4.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

The Boxing Glove Book Review: Raging Bull by Jake Lamotta

The Boxing Glove Book Review By Peter Silkov

"Raging Bull: My Story Jake La Motta" Written by By Jake Lamotta, with Joseph Carter and Peter Savage

Former World middleweight champion, Jake "The Bronx Bull" Lamotta, is one of boxing’s most enduring legends, whose life outside of the ring has been as stormy and controversial, as his life inside of it. Lamotta was world champion from June 16, 1949, until February 14, 1951, and is famed as having fought the great Sugar Ray Robinson six times, as well as being the man to hand Robinson his first professional defeat. Ironically, it would be Robinson who would relieve Lamotta of his World Middleweight title. As he approaches his 94th birthday this year and as far as I am aware, he is boxing’s oldest surviving ex-world champion. However, there is a lot more to Lamotta than just a straightforward story of a boxer fighting his way to the world championship.

Lamotta is far from a straightforward person, just as he was far from being simply a take three punches to land one punch type of slugger that many today believe. Jake’s life story was portrayed in the 1980 Martin Scorsese film “Raging Bull” with Robert Deniro giving one of the most powerful performances of his career. Raging Bull was hailed as one of the greatest boxing movies ever, and laid bare the rage and paranoia that both drove and tortured Jake Lamotta.

The film was based on Lamotta’s biography “Raging Bull” of the same name, which was first published in 1970. If “Raging Bull” the film is often operatic in its portrayal of Jake’s rages and struggles with his inner demons, then the book is altogether more darker and detailed. This is an autobiography of a man at war with himself, as well as the world around him.

Jake Lamotta grew up in the Bronx New York, in a run down tenement, with an abusive father who beat him and his siblings, and his mother. By the age of 16 years old, Jake was in his own words a ’hardcore’ juvenile delinquent. “I was a bum, and lived like a bum, in a bum neighbourhood.’ At about this age, Lamotta mugged a local bookie, and was left believing he had killed him. This early savage act is one of the main incidences that formed Jake’s outlook on the world and himself, he is a man riven with guilt, anxieties, and suspicion. Boxing eventually offered Jake a way out from the criminal life that he had become entangled. Yet, he could not get away from the insecurities that his upbringing and early experiences have sowed within him. Lamotta has been married 7 times during his life, and it’s not hard to see why. Within this book, he is very open about the paranoia and jealousy that eventually brought an end his marriage to Vicky Lamotta, his wife during his boxing days.

Lamotta seemed to trust no one and had few friends, save for his life long buddy, Pete. He often had reason to be suspicious of people, but at other times, it was revealed that his own worst enemy was, too often, himself.

Always a loner, Lamotta’s aloofness from the mob elements, who ran boxing at this time, meant that he was kept waiting for years for his chance at the world’s championship. In the end, Jake was forced to pay a tremendous price in order to receive his chance at the title; he was forced to take a dive against Billy Fox in 1947. Even after taking the dive, Lamotta was kept waiting almost another two years before he finally received his world title shot.

When he beat Marcel Cerdan for the World middleweight title on June 16, 1949, despite it being the greatest day of his life, it would also ironically prove to be the beginning of his downfall both as a boxer and a person. Lamotta soon realized, through a number of incidences, that being world champion would not take away the turmoil that ate away inside of him. In many ways, it is as if he did not feel that he deserved to be world champion.

“Raging Bull” follows Lamotta through his bittersweet title reign and then looks at how his world quickly starts to fall apart after he loses the championship to Sugar Ray Robinson. As his boxing career fell apart, so did his private life. After his boxing career is over, Jake is bereft at having lost the one thing that held him together, and made him able to function in a world in which he felt so alienated.

There was a culmination of events that happen which eventually throw Lamotta’s life into a spiral of decline. Firstly, he was incarcerated for abetting prostitution, and then, later, testified at the 1960 Senate investigations into corruption in boxing, admitting he threw the ’47 fight against Billy Fox. With this admission, Lamotta is publicly humiliated and banished from the boxing establishment. While Lamotta’s confession is seen as brave in some quarters, it makes him a leper in most boxing circles, and has reverberations that continue until this day. Lamotta had confessed to doing the unthinkable, but perhaps more than the dive itself, it was the confession itself that so enraged some elements within the boxing establishment.

Eventually, Lamotta was to enjoy at least a partial return to public favour. It was a process that began with this book being published in 1970, and eventually reached its full fruitation with the release of Scorsese’s film of the book in 1980.

Lamotta remains a controversial character, but in “Raging Bull”, he certainly doesn’t pull any punches regarding himself. This is a warts-and-all autobiography. There are strong parallels between Lamotta’s story and that of Rocky Graziano, who grew up in the Bronx at the same time as Lamotta, and won the World middleweight title, during a time when Lamotta was waiting his chance, and being called by many the ‘uncrowned’ champion. Graziano would also write a book about his life, and rise from juvenile delinquent to middleweight world champion, in “Somebody Up There Likes Me” (a great book in its own right.) Graziano’s autobiography was also later made into a film, by the same name, starring Paul Newman.

However, despite the similarities between the two men and their life stories, “Raging Bull” is an altogether darker more complex book.

Over 40 years since it was originally published, “Raging Bull” still packs a powerful punch. It is a brilliant study of Jake Lamotta’s rise to the top of the boxing world, despite many obstacles being thrown in his way by various elements other than his opponents in the ring. We also see how the very character traits, which make Lamotta so fearless and formidable in the ring, eventually prove to be his downfall in his private life, and come very close to totally destroying him.

Anyone who has ever watched the film “Raging Bull” can find where all of the inspiration and drama came from in this autobiography. The term ‘living legend’ is almost embarrassingly overused today, but it is a term that Jake Lamotta deserves. “Raging Bull” tells us what a complex man he is, and also gives us a glimpse into the complex and often-nefarious world of boxing.

*Not all photos on this page are published in "Raging Bull."

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Book Review: In This Corner: Forty World Champions Tell Their Stories

The Boxing Glove Sunday Night Book Review by Peter Silkov

In This Corner: Forty World Champions Tell Their Stories.
Written by Peter Heller

This week at The Boxing Glove, we are reviewing a book, which originally came out in 1973, but is still available either new or second hand.

Pete Herman

From early 1970 to late 1972, Peter Heller traveled up and down America with a tape recorder, interviewing over forty former world boxing champions, going back to the 1910s. The result is a fascinating insight into the lives of these fighters, who at one point were the best in the world at their weight, back in the days when a world champion really was a world champion.

The book is sectioned off by decades, with varying amount of fighters representing each decade. From 1910 to 1920, then the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s.

Part of the charm of this book is that most of the fighters interviewed for it have since passed on, so this is in many ways a rare and precious recording of these men in conversation, talking about not just their boxing careers, but their lives, and experiences outside of the ring. There are many social insights within these pages, though so much has changed in many ways, interestingly much has remained the same. For instance, the question of racism and prejudice comes up numerous times in this book, and we need only to look around us today and see that many of these problems are still with us today.

Jack Dempsey

The fighters interviewed in this book rage from legendary figures such as Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Henry Armstrong, Willie Pep, and Sugar Ray Robinson, to those not so widely known, especially today, men like Gunboat Smith, Charley Phil Rosenberg, and Pete Herman.

Even though many of the fighters who appear in this book have been written about many times and even published their own autobiographies, many of them were never interviewed in a one-on-one situation before this book. The result is that the ex-fighters often seem to come out with memories and feelings, which they had never expressed publicly before. In his interview, for instance, Jack Dempsey says about the great Sam Langford “even at my best I don’t know whether I could lick him or not."

Lou Ambers

Some of the other fighters contained in this book are Willie Richie, Jack Sharkey, Lou Ambers, Jim Braddock, Battling Battalino, Lew Jenkins, Don Jordan, Willie Pep, Sandy Saddler, Billy Conn, Archie Moore, Bobo Olsen, Jake Lamotta, Rocky Graziano, Floyd Patterson, and Emile Griffith, just to name just a few.

This book is really a time capsule of the experiences and feelings of many of the great fighters who fought in the ring when boxing was one of the hardest and most poplar sports in the world. There are many insights into their lives and boxing careers that you cannot find elsewhere. Peter Heller’s gift in putting this book together is that he had the ability to make each of these men relaxed enough with him so that they could confide in him things, which they often had never revealed before in public. Many were also able to look at their careers in a more objective and philosophical light, now that they were years removed away from fighting.

Sugar Ray Robinson

I have had a copy of this book for over 30 years now and still dip into it regularly for quotes or information about some of the fighters that were interviewed. It is that good.

In all, no serious boxing follower can ignore this exceptional book. For those who are interested already in the fighters of the past, this book is invaluable, and for those who may think that the fighters of the past are irrelevant or over hyped, this is the book that will change your mind.

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Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Donations Needed To Provide Food For Those In Need This Thanksgiving Holiday Season.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Saturday, May 30, 2015