Mark Prince Coming Back to Make a Difference

By Peter Silkov

Stories of boxers making a comeback to the ring after years in retirement and long past their primes, are as old as the sport of boxing. They often are melancholy tales of faded glory and lost youth that seemingly never end happily. At first glance, Mark Prince’s comeback last Friday (October 4 2013) at London’s famous York Hall, in Bethnal Green, is no different to so many other boxers of the past. Prince was a world-rated light heavyweight in the late 1990’s and his only career defeat came in a WBO world light-heavyweight title fight with the formidable Dariusz Michalczewski. That fight took place on September 19, 1998, after which, Prince fought once more fourteen months later, beating Kevin Mitchell in the first round, before hanging up his gloves due to a severe knee injury. Friday’s comeback fight would be the first time that Prince had stepped competitively into a boxing ring in almost fourteen years.  This and his age of forty-four, did not look like boding well for Prince in his comeback.  Fourteen years is a lifetime in a boxer’s career, and few boxers get a chance to live their athletic lives again. 

However, Mark Prince’s comeback to the ring is different. Rather than donning the gloves once more, simply out of boredom, or a desire to relive past glories, Prince has a cause that he is indelibly bonded. On May 18, 2006, Mark’s fifteen-year-old son, Kiyan Prince, an immensely talented young footballer for Queens Park Rangers, was fatally stabbed after intervening in a street fight between two youths outside his school. In a cruel irony, Prince had spent much of his time since retiring from boxing in 1999, working with disadvantaged youths, and trying to steer them into a positive direction in life, just as he had found a new life away from the streets, after he had taken up boxing in his early 20s.  In the wake of his loss, Mark decided to make something positive come out of the tragedy of Kiyan’s death. He created the Kiyan Prince Foundation, a non-profit organisation that is committed to combating knife crime and all forms of youth violence. The ultimate aim is to make the younger generation aware that there is another path in life to choose, rather than the petty crime, and gang violence, by which so many live today. 

Since setting up the Kiyan Prince Foundation, Mark has become a familiar spokesman against violence and delinquency, but at the same time, has found himself frustrated in his efforts to make the kind of impact that is needed to bring about real lasting change on the streets. Despite many pats on the back from authorities, funding has been hard to get, and the foundation is still without a building in which to base the foundation.  
It is with these goals in mind that Mark decided to make a comeback and to use his return to boxing as a platform to bring renewed attention and funding to his cause.

As expected, after such a long time out, Mark found starting his comeback was not a simple task, when the BBBC (British Boxing Board of Control) refused to grant him a license. This was eventually remedied, when Mark was given sanctioning by the GBA (German Boxing Association) and his comeback was finally able to take off on Dave Murphy’s ’Night of Champions’ show.

Prince’s first competitive opponent in fourteen years was 39-year-old Czech Jindrich Velecky 19-25(18), despite his losing record, is known for his toughness and durability. Fighting at cruiserweight, Prince entered the ring looking in remarkable condition for a 44-year-old boxer coming back from such a long absence. 

The first round saw both men boxing a bit cagily, with Prince getting his jab going and landing a couple of right hands, as the Velecky tried some right hands of his own, but found himself missing the more nimble Prince.  

In the second round, after starting the round with his swift jab, Prince opened up with a two-handed attack to the body and head, which put Velecky onto the defensive, as Prince gained total control of the bout. In the 3rd round, Prince kept the Czech on the end of his jab, and firing right hands to the body.  Midway through the round, Velecky landed a right to Prince’s face, but got a two-fisted rebuke for his temerity.

Prince started the 4th round stalking the now defensive-minded Cezch, pot shotting with his right hands to head and body, while keeping up a steady barrage of jabs. It was clear now that Prince’s punches were hurting the Czech, who was now hardly landing any punches of his own. The end, when it came, was sudden, as Prince, after landing a few jabs to the head, connected with a right that sent Velecky staggering into the ropes, and prompted referee Micky Vann to step in, and halt the contest.  Much to Velecky’s evident annoyance.

It was an emotional victory for Prince, who gave a powerful speech to the audience afterwards, about his motivations for coming back to the ring. Overall, it was an impressive performance for Prince, against a man, who is often beaten, but is not often stopped. How far Prince can go with his comeback remains to be seen and there will certainly be harder tests for him in the future. However, judging by the large crowd in attendance, he has already reached his goal of bringing more attention to the Kiyan Prince foundation.  

The hall was packed and the crowd was heard, from the first bell, right up to Mark’s victorious finish. The profound meaning of this fight to Mark was evident in the moments after his win, when he literally jumped around the ring with elation, and emotion. Many members of the crowd seemed almost as emotional as Mark himself, at what he had just done. 

After the audience had settled down, Mark gave a moving speech about his son and the reasons why he had returned to the ring, not for the material glory, but to try to make a difference in ways, which will transcend simply the sport of boxing.
Mark may have a long journey ahead of him, in order to take the Kiyan Prince Foundation to where he wants it to be, but judging by the impact that he had on Friday night, he has the ability to make people sit up and take notice, all he needs is to be granted is a platform on which to stand. 

Mark Prince’s fight was the culmination of a busy and entertaining fight card.

The night opened with a light-middleweight contest between Nick Klappart 17-1(11kos) and Suleyman Dag 10-46(5kos). This fight turned out to be something of a drubbing for the diminutive Dag, who looked as if he belonged in a different weight division to Klappart. Despite showing admirable heart and toughness, Dag was picked off almost at will by Klappart, was bleeding, and battered by the time his corner mercifully threw in the towel, after a brutal 4th round, which had seen Dag ship some heavy punches. 

At light welterweight, Antonio Counihan 1-0 made his professional debut against Robin Deakin 1-50, and won via a 4 rounds point’s decision. Counihan showed talent in this his first real test at 135. After scoring two knockdowns in the opening stanza, Counihan outboxed, and out-punched the brave Deakin for the point’s verdict.
Counihan, who has already built up quite a fan base, judging by the amount of spectators, who were singing his name as the contest started. If he continues his career in this manner, then Counihan could be one to watch in the future.

Also making his professional debut at light middleweight, Shiya Ozgul 1-0, out-pointed Michal Vosyka 1-5-1 over 4 rounds. In a lively encounter, Ozgul showed a crowd-pleasing style.

The first women’s fight of the night featured super-bantamweights, Marianne Marston 2-0 (2kos) against debutant Katalena Lazar. Unfortunately, it was an unhappy debut for Lazar, as she was dropped by a body shot almost immediately, and after beating the count, was swiftly dropped by another shot in the same place, and this time counted out at 67 seconds of the 1st round.

The second women’s contest of the night featured, Jennifer Retzke 13-1-1(9kos) taking on Angel Mckenzie 4-30, for the vacant GBC light-middleweight championship. After a busy contest that went the scheduled 10 rounds, Mckenzie seemed unlucky not to get the point’s verdict.  The fight had seen Mckenzie bustling forward and throwing punches, while Retzke fought mainly off the back foot, using a good jab, and movement. In a fight where many of the rounds could have gone either way, Mckenzie seemed to have done enough by virtue of her aggression and landing the more punches, despite the fact that Retzke was landing the more solid and correct shots.

In what was the fight, of the night in terms of competitive action, Iain Weaver 3-0(ko1) out-pointed Michelino Di Mari 2-1-1 over 6 rounds, in what was a battle of unbeaten super-featherweights. Both men went toe-to-toe for much of the fight and treated the crowd to some good exchanges. However, it was Weaver who edged the rounds with his better accuracy and his jab, and at the end of the six rounds, he was a worthy winner of a great fight, which deserves a rematch.

The Kiyan Prince Foundation is a non-profit organization and if you would like to contribute to Mark Prince’s campaign to raise awareness, give opportunities to young people, educate, create programs to inspire, motivate,  to mentor, and so much more, please contact the foundation and be part of great solution to violence.   Please visit http://www.kiyan.org/ to discover what you can do to make a difference!

If you want to watch Prince's return to boxing the video is available here:


Film from SecondsOut

Copyright © 2013 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com  

Wladimir Klitschko Aiming to Punish Povetkin

By Peter Silkov

On Saturday Wladimir Klitschko 60-3(51kos) steps into the ring with Alexander Povetkin 26-0(18kos) at the Olimpiyskiy, Moscow, Russia, to defend his WBA, IBF, IBO, WBO world heavyweight titles.  Historically in boxing a fight for the heavyweight championship of the world has always been one of  the sports most important occasions, a time in which even those most fickle of boxing followers will look up, and take notice.

Today that is not quite the case, world heavyweight title fights are a bitter sweet occasion for many boxing fans today.

This will be Wladimir’s 25th world title fight, and the 16th consecutive defence of his WBO belt since he regained it way back in 2005.  Even by today’s multi title standards Wladimirs world title tally is a formidable resume.

The only other active heavyweight who comes close to Wladimirs achievements and ability in the ring is his older brother Vitali, who holds the WBC title, the only belt not to be owned by Wladimir.  But here lies the Klitchenko’s problem, so absolute have they become in their dual rule of the heavyweight division, that they have been accused in many quarters as having killed off all interest in the heavyweight division.   In some senses this is true, as between them the Klitschko’s have decimated a whole era of heavyweight challengers and pretend champions, until quite simply there is nothing left untouched by them. 

Once considered the inferior fighter of the two brothers, Wladimir rebounded from devastating stoppage defeats to Corrie Sanders in 2003 (which ended his first world championship reign) and Lamon Brewster in 2004, to remodel his style to such an extent that he has been unbeaten ever since.  Under the guidance of the late legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, Wladimir tightened his defence, and developed his jab to such an extent that he is able to win fights with that alone.  Using his height and reach, speed and athleticism, to its fullest Wladimir has become a boxer who fully fulfils his nickname ’Dr Steelhammer’ as he dissects his opponents with the clinical efficiency of a surgeon.  In many ways, Wladimir can be seen as Stewards masterpiece, as he has developed from being a fatally flawed boxer, on the verge of retirement, to now being considered the premier fighter of his era, and eclipsing his older brother Vitali.   

It is cruelly ironic that with his success has come the criticism of Wladimir being too good, and too dominating of his opponents.  Part of the problem is the technical approach which Wladimir takes in his fights, the ability to break down his opponents with his jab, while allowing his opponent little chance to land anything of substance upon him.  This approach has served him very well in the past 10 years, so well in fact that he has seemed pretty much unbeatable.  At the same time however this has rendered many of Wladimirs world title defences one way processions of him dissecting his way to victory. 

For a long time now boxing fans have wanted to see the Klitschko’s tested, something that neither brother has really been for the past decade.  But unfortunately for both brothers, their challengers have been largely limited.  The heavyweight division today has one of the most limited talent pools ever seen in its history. 

This is something which neither of the Klitschko’s is responsible for or has profited from either.  The truth is that both brothers have missed out on the kind of acclaim and huge paydays which showdowns against genuinely dangerous challengers would have granted them.

But at the same time it is worth remembering that the Klitschko’s fight to regularly packed arena’s in their adopted country, Germany.  While America has become largely ambivalent to the two brothers, Europe holds both men in much higher esteem. 

It is also undeniable that both Klitschko’s would be formidable fighters in any heavyweight era, with their power, technique and athleticism making them a difficult opponent for just about anyone.

In stepping in the ring against Povetkin this Saturday, Wladimir will be facing one of his most accomplished challengers.  The Russian born Povetkin is unbeaten and this showdown with Wladimir has been years in the making.  For those who believe Heavyweight boxing is dead, a look at the attention that this showdown is gaining in Russia may make some change their mind.

Certainly in Russia this is being seen as a huge occasion, with two Eastern European fighters meeting to contest the greatest prize in sport.  It is no coincidence that Wladimir will be getting his largest ever purse for this defence of his title, something around 17 million dollars, while Povetkin will take about 6 million.
 
Like Wladimir, the Russian is a former Olympic Goldmedelist, winning the super heavyweight title in the 2004 games, while Wladimir won Gold in the same division in 1996.

Povetkin is a well schooled boxer, but he has never faced anyone approaching the ability of Klitschko, and the question is does he have the depth of talent and resources to really pose a danger to ‘Dr Steelhammer’.

Since turning professional Povetkin has been brought along carefully, building up his record upon mainly fringe contenders and faded ex-champions Chris Byrd, and Hasim Rahman, both of whom were a long way past their best by the time they fought Povetkin.  For the past two years Povetkin has held what is known as the ’regular’ WBA world heavyweight title, which is basically a clever way for the world boxing bodies to earn a little more money by having more than one ’champion’ of their own.

Despite this the ’title’ has allowed Povetkin to build up his record and gain more experience as a professional.  On Saturday he will finally be let off the leash and let loose against ’Dr Steelhammer’.  The suspicion with Povetkin is that despite his amateur pedigree, like so many before him, he will find himself woefully out of his depth against Wladimir.

Povetkin is a good all round fighter, but does not excel particularly at any one thing.
He will be giving size, weight, reach, speed, power and skill away to Klitschko.  The reach in particular is likely to be a big problem for the Russian, with Wladimir holding a huge 6 inch advantage in this area alone. 

During the run up to this fight there has been the curious development of the Povetkin camp inviting Britain’s Dereck Chisora to fly out and be part of team Povetkin on Saturday night.  It has even been suggested that Chisora will be chosen by Povetkin’s management to  be their witness in Wladimir’s dressing room on fight night, and to oversee the wrapping of the champions hands for them.  This is all designed to try and disrupt the concentration of the Wladimir in the final hours before fight time, as the animosity between both Klitshcho brothers and Chisora (who lost on points to Vitali early last year) is well known. 

Perhaps Povetkin’s camp are hoping that using the presence of the erratic Chisora will disrupt the concentration of Wladimir, or even provoke him into entering the fight with a more aggressive attitude than usual.  It may well be that Povetkin’s only hope of victory will be that an overly aggressive Wladimir comes forward on the attack and leaves himself more open than usual.  This in light of  the champions still perceived fragility, would seem to be the Russian’s main chance of victory.

Interestingly Wladimir has said himself that he see’s this fight as one of his biggest challenges, and that he wants to respond to it by winning with a knockout.

The truth is that if Povetkin has really riled up ’Dr Steelhammer’ the consequences are likely to result in an even quicker and more painful night for the Russian challenger.  Klitschko is experienced and wise enough to be able to use any anger he may feel in this fight as extra motivation, rather than a negative distraction.

This looks like being another notch on Wladimir Klitshcko’s belt, as he continues to build up one of the most impressive and underrated legacies in the history of the heavyweight division.

      
Therefore, one man’s dream sparkles for a moment, then flickers and dies. We watch it fade away before us, and then wonder whose dream it will be next time. Chances are we wont have long to wait.

Copyright © 2013 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com     

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and the Fixers & Schemers of Boxing

By Peter Silkov

 (photo from www.fightnews.com)

 Barely two weeks ago, Floyd Mayweather posted a victory for the sweet science, over a much younger and larger opponent, who was also aided by astonishing powers of rehydraytion. It was a victory of skill over bulk, old school weight making (actually weighing the weight of your division on the night of the fight) over the wonderful benefits of re-hydrating 10 to 20 plus pounds, in the 24 hours following the weigh-in.
Floyd scored his victory, despite one of the judges seemingly suffering an optical illusion during the proceedings, and ’seeing’ the fight as a draw. At the end of the night, this lone judge’s visual deficiencies was a minor blip, and after a few days of well-deserved criticism, boxing fans were able to laugh off this blip as just one of those funny things that pops up now and then in boxing. In the end, justice was served, the right man won, and the sweet science smelled good again.

Or was it?

It says a lot about the state of the sport, that in the run-up to Mayweather vs. Alvarez, the worry for some was not if Mayweather could beat Alvarez, but rather whether the judges would see the same fight as everyone else witnessed. Any notions that these worries were unfounded, or perhaps a little neurotic, were given their answer in C.J Ross’s now infamous drawn card. Thank goodness, her two fellow judges brought their correct glasses with them that night.

Flip forward two weeks later and we have the spectacle of  Julio Cesar Chavez Jr 47-1-1(32kos), (spawn of the legendary father, and born with a golden boxing glove in his mouth), hands raised high, and basking in the stinky glory of his point’s victory over Brian Vera 23-7(14kos), seemingly oblivious to the rotten smell swirling all around him.       

It seems on Saturday night, at The Stubhub Centre,  in Carson, California, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was just about the only person who didn’t sense something strong and unpleasant in the air, while others certainly smelt it, but didn’t care. However, the vast majority of the spectators, many of whom had entered the arena as Chavez fans, cared, as did Brian Vera and his corner. The crowd made their feelings known by greeting Chavez’s exhibition of victory with a modest smattering of applause, that was quickly drowned out by indignant boos, and then a stony silence.

Chavez Jr. had been judged the winner of a fight, which only his most die hard fans, could truly see him as emerging from victorious. It is often said that scoring boxing is a subjective business, this is true to an extent, but there is a firm basis for scoring a fight and judging who is winning a particular contest. It is generally agreed that the fighter landing the most punches on his opponent, will be seen as holding the upper hand in the fight, in addition to this, a fighter who is dictating the pace of a fight and forcing the action, can also be said to be in control of the fight; therefore winning the contest in question. On Saturday night, it was Brian Vera who landed, repeatedly, and round after round; the more punches, dictated the pace, and despite a huge visible disparity in size, forced the action.  Chavez Jr., for all his advantages in size, was the one continually on the back foot, and often so sparing with his punches, that at times, he resembled a sleepwalker.    
The fight followed a similar pattern throughout its ten rounds. Brian Vera bustled forward with a surprisingly effective jab, forcing Chavez to give ground, and when he had got in close, Vera would open up with combinations to the head and body.  Chavez Jr., despite his huge size advantage (although both boxers supposedly weighed a comparable 171 for Vera to 172.5 for Chavez Jr at the weighin the day before) chose to backup from Vera’s aggressive attacks. Chavez Jr. alternated from moving round the ring, to standing flat-footed, and stationary in front of Vera, but seldom used his jab, even when boxing on the retreat. In fact, Chavez Jr. seldom threw punches at all. When he did throw some shots, it was clear and hardly surprising, that they carried more weight than Vera’s punches. Rounds should not be won by a handful of heavy punches, opposed to a much larger number of lighter punches. It was as if Vera’s shots were being blocked by Chavez, whose defense, when he wasn’t on the retreat, was as lax as his offence. When Chavez was on the backfoot, Vera had little difficulty in tracking him down and closing the gap, to once again, land more punches. Besides a fairly close opening round, which saw Chavez Jr. land some good body shots, and two better stanza’s in the 3rd and 6th rounds, where he edged the action with his heavier punches, Chavez Jr seemed to be clearly outworked and outboxed in every other round.  Even when Chavez Jr connected with his bigger punches, Vera would come right back at him with his aggressive flurries.

At times, Vera responded to Chavez’s rare attacks with a broad smile, and aside from a moment in the sixth round, never seemed seriously troubled by Chavez’s superior power.  If there was room for doubt over the verdict, Vera seemed to dispel this with a strong finish in the final three rounds, which saw him get busier and more aggressive, while Chavez was now complaining to the referee about some perceived fouls, and looking distinctly sorry for himself. After the contest, Chavez accused Vera of constant head-butts, yet it was Chavez’s own penchant of lowering his own head towards Vera’s that was responsible for most of the bumping that occurred, which actually wasn’t that much at all.

Vera is what is known as a tough fighter, with a busy, energetic, and occasionally rough style, but he is by no means a dirty fighter, fought a clean, and honest fight against Chavez Jr.

How ironic that Chavez, who broke so many of boxing’s supposedly cardinal rules in the run up to this fight, should then attempt to hide behind the rule book when the fight turns out to be far tougher than he had wished.

Chavez’s battered mug, was much more due to Vera’s constant punching, rather than head butts or any other rough stuff.

At the final bell, Vera and his corner were ecstatic, while Chavez Jr, and his corner were muted and downcast. After quickly berating the referee for some perceived injustice, Chavez Jr. went to his corner with all the vigour of a man who wanted to be somewhere else at that moment. The face of Chavez’s father Julio Sr., said it all, wearing a mixture of bemusement, anxiety and disappointment all over it.

Meanwhile in Vera’s corner they celebrated.

Then something happened. Moments before the verdict was announced, members of Chavez’s corner started celebrating, and giving whoops of joy. Then came the point’s verdicts. It soon became suddenly clear that the night’s three judges had studied at the same school of judging as C.J. Ross.

Carla Caiz had it 96-94, Marty Denkin 97-93, and then Gwen Adair (who definitely deserves the C.J. Ross judge of the month award) had it a wonderful 98-92. 
Looking at the judging of these three blind mice it is as if they were at three different fights. The only thing that their judging has in common is that neither of them saw Chavez losing. It seemed to be something that neither judge wanted to see either.

Carla Caiz’s card is curious; as it shows that, she gave the first four rounds to Vera, and then on realising her mistake, gave the remaining six rounds to Chavez. Marty Denkin, by contrast, gave Chavez everything, save the third, eighth, and ninth rounds. Finally, Gwen Adair’s card is a masterpiece of scoring, through Bob Arum tinted glasses, but at least she had the decency to grant Vera rounds eight and nine, presumably, as a consolation prize.

This verdict is not the greatest robbery ever committed in boxing, unfortunately, it is not even the biggest robbery of this year, or even this month (that prize must go to Burns vs. Beltran).  However, this only shows the depths of the problem. This is not a one- off, it is a pernicious disease, which is infecting boxing, from top-to-toe, and threatening to poison the remaining magic held within the sweet science. Is it any wonder that many view boxing now as a place where the fixers and schemers decide who will win and who will lose, before anyone has even stepped into the ring.

We often here about the bad old days when boxing was in the hands of cartels and ruled by the mafia, but is it any cleaner now?  Have the mob bosses of old, simply been replaced by the world boxing bodies, TV networks, and the promoters?
How much longer can boxing afford to steal victories from some of its hardest working fighters, and treat its fans like fools?

As it is, the effects of how boxing is managed by the people that run it can be seen by the fact that it is no longer a mainstream sport. The greed that has led to multiple world champions, at every weight, has chipped away steadily at its reputation and appeal. A decision, like the one given on Saturday night for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., is just another blow and another chip, into boxing’s evermore battered visage.

Perhaps a good illustration of the way things work in boxing these days can be found in the contrasting treatment given to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Guillermo Rigondeaux. In Chavez, we have a fighter who is basically an over protected slob, who seems to be incapable of staying in shape, and who treats the advise of those around him with a mixture of boredom and contempt. On the other, we have a fighter who is blessed with an abundance of talent, is a dedicated professional, who has made huge sacrifices in order to pursue his dream of becoming a great boxer. So, which boxer, out of these two men, was described by their promoter as being a ‘boring fighter’ who makes HBO executives ‘throw up’ when Arum mentions his name? Yes, Rigondeaux!  The oh so ‘boring’ WBO and WBA world super-bantamweight champion, who in April schooled Arum’s favourite, Nonito Donaire, and hasn’t been able to get a fight since.
    
Ironically, Saturday’s farcical decision for Chavez Jr., took the attention away from the saga of Junior’s ever-increasing weight limit. First, it was 165, then 168, and then 173, until, finally, it seemed that Chavez was going to be able to turn up, and weigh in at whatever weight he wanted. In the end, Chavez weighed in at a suspiciously ‘light’ 172.5, while Vera scaled in at just a pound lighter, so we were told.  In the ring, the difference in size between the two was almost shocking; it really did look like a middleweight fighting a light heavyweight. The fact that it was the much smaller man, who seemed to have ‘won’ the fight, says a lot for both men. Indeed, Vera exposed Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for what he is, both in and out of the ring. The truth is, that Chavez’s ‘talent’ is a myth, aside from the advantage in size that he usually holds over his opponents, Chavez is a mundanely talented fighter, who is too lazy to even make the most of the modest ability which he possesses.

Vera would like a rematch against Chavez Jr., but the chances of that happening are miniscule, Chavez Jr. will not want to risk ‘losing’ to the smaller man twice.

After the fight, and between declarations of how he was always in control of the fight, and would have knocked out Vera if he hadn’t hurt his right hand in the fifth round, Chavez stated his intention of going down to 168 pounds to fight for a world title.

Of course, as luck would have it, the WBC have a nice little ‘world’ title fight waiting for Chavez, should he manage to get his hulking body back down to 168 pounds, having sensitively taken the crown away from Andre Ward, and awarded it to the winner of Sakio Bika vs. Marco Antonio Periban. The veteran Bika won on points, after a rugged fight, which at times, seemed as if it was being fought in slow motion.
The WBC may as well call a press conference and award the title and WBC belt to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., there and then, rather than go through with the charade of ’fighting’ for the title. The ever so likely outcome is that Chavez will win, even if he loses.

The saddest part of all this was watching the joy and exaltation of Vera’s corner, especially Vera and his trainer Ronnie Shields, crumple up into shock and disbelief
after the decision was announced. Even Ronnie Sheilds, a former world title contender, and a trainer with over thirty years in the business behind him, found this fight a bitter pill to swallow.

So it goes on, the crowd will boo the decision and some scribes will wring their hands at the injustice of it all, but the fixers and schemers who run the game will rub their sweaty hands together, and plan their next move. They’ve been getting away with it for so long because they are the ones who make up the rules, and it’s very easy to do what you like when you are making up your own rules.

Therefore, one man’s dream sparkles for a moment, then flickers and dies. We watch it fade away before us, and then wonder whose dream it will be next time. Chances are we wont have long to wait.


Copyright © 2013 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com

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Boxing Fans Treated To an Exciting Show at the Camden Centre

By Peter Silkov

London boxing fans were treated to another entertaining boxing show last night (Friday 27 September) with Mickey Helliet’s ’Too Fast, Too furious’ card, at the Camden Centre, Kings Cross, in London. This is about the fifth show to be staged by Helliet at the Camden Centre this year, and the venue is fast becoming a favourite for the fans. The ’Too Fast, Too Furious’ card did not disappoint, as a full house noisily enjoyed a well-matched undercard, which culminated in a thrilling main event.    

The top of the bill attraction was a clash between Elliott Matthews 9-0-1(6kos) and Gary Boulden 7-11-2, for the vacant Southern Area middleweight championship. It was a match, which promised fireworks, pitting the rising Elliott against the battle- hardened Boulden, who despite his recent losing record, is always tough to beat. 
Boulden also had the added incentive of having held this title for six months in 2011 before losing it to the current British champion, Billy Joe Saunders. 

Elliott made a good start to the fight in the first round, coming forward behind his southpaw jab, and mixing in some good lefts, which had Boulden under pressure, and attempting to counter on the retreat. In the second round, Boulden stood his ground more and tried to drag Elliott into a toe-to-toe encounter with some good punches of his own. Elliott retained control of the action with his superior power and accuracy, as he continued to land his jab and fire lefts to the head and body, in what was already becoming a lively fight. Boulden was down early in the second from what seemed to be a loss of balance rather than a genuine knockdown.

The pace continued to heat up in the 3rd, as Boulden targeted the body, and looked to get inside; the result was a number of good exchanges from the pair. Halfway through the round, Boulden opened up a cut over the left eye of Matthews, and the sight of the cut seemed to galvanize both boxers, and the round ended with them fighting toe-to- toe.

Boulden had one of his best rounds of the fight in the 4th, as Elliott seemed to be bothered by his cut left eye. Elliott was still coming forward, but seemed preoccupied with shielding the injured eye, while Boulden was now outworking him with two-fisted barrages, which had worsened the cut by the rounds end.

By the 5th round Boulden had made the fight the kind of slugfest that he wanted it to be, and there were some great exchanges between the two, as Elliott looked to land his big punches, while Boulden countered well. At this point, Elliott, perhaps worried about the severity of his cut left eye, seemed to be looking for a big punch to end matters, rather than working off the jab as he had done earlier on in the bout.  Towards the end of the round, as the two were engaged in a frenetic exchange, a cut was opened over Elliott’s right eye.

Boulden started the 6th round fast, as he forced Elliott back with a busy attack, which targeted Elliott’s damaged eyes. Elliott responded with some hard shots of his own, and while Boulden was throwing the more punches, Elliott’s punches were carried the more power.   
Elliott’s corner did well to get the cuts under control and by the 7th round, the left eye had more or less stopped bleeding, while the right eye was kept under control, and didn’t pose a problem, as the fight progressed into the later rounds. With the cuts under control, Elliott seemed to regain his composure in the 7th round and begun to utilize his southpaw jab once more, and caught Boulden flush with some heavy shots to the head, from both hands. Boulden showed his admirable toughness by continuing to fire back himself, but the upper hand in the action had clearly swung back to Elliott. 

In the 8th round, Elliott controlled the action with his jab, knocking Boulden’s head back with it, as Boulden now struggled to get inside as he had earlier. Boulden was now cut and marked over the right eye, and seemed to be feeling the pace for the first time in the fight, with Elliott looking the fresher of the two.

Both men wore the marks of battle, as they came out for the 9th round, with Elliott’s right eye now swollen, but he kept control of the action again with his jab, which was solid and accurate. Boulden looked tired, as he tried to force his way inside, but continued to bravely throw punches at Elliott, despite being picked off by Elliott’s jabs and left hooks.

The 10th and final round proved to be the most exciting round of the fight, as Boulden showed amazing heart and stamina, by putting everything into a last ditch effort to stop Elliott. He literally threw himself at Elliott, with a terrific two-handed attack, forcing Elliott to give ground and cover up. One or two shots by Boulden seemed to momentarily shake Elliott, but Elliott came back with some tremendous punches of his own to hurt Boulden. The crowd was on their feet, as the two engaged in a tremendous toe-to- toe exchange, which ended in more drama, when a clash of heads caused a cut to open in Elliott’s hairline. With blood suddenly pouring down his face, the fight was stopped momentarily for the doctor to have a look at it. Thankfully, the fight was allowed to continue and the two carried on where they had left off, exchanging punches toe-to-toe until the bell ending the fight. At the end, both boxers were given a rousing ovation by the raucous crowd. This fight was the kind of back and forth thriller that the southern area titles have long been famous for in boxing. 

Referee Marcus Mcdonnell made Elliott Matthews the winner and champion by the score of 97-to-94. Although Matthews was a worthy winner, by virtue of his heavier and more accurate punching, Boulden had once again showed that you can’t judge a fighter simply by his win and loss record. This was such an outstanding fight that noone would complain if there was a rematch. Gary Boulden definitely deserves one.
There was a slightly bizarre situation after the verdict was read out, when it was announced that there wasn’t a belt at hand  to award the new champion, but most of the spectators were too excited by the spectacle they had just had the pleasure to witness to let this disappointment bother them too much. 
Hopefully, Matthews might be given his belt in the ring at the next Camden Centre show which is set for October 25th.

The ‘Too Fast, Too Furious’ show started off with five entertaining and sometimes controversial undercard fights.

One of the night’s biggest attractions, alongside the main event title fight, was the professional debut of Dempsey Fury 1-0, cousin of former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Fury faced Mark Till 0-1 who was also having his first professional outing. Fighting at super-middleweight, the pair made a lively start to their scheduled 4-rounder, with Till showing a decent jab, but Fury out landing him with his own, and showing more power in his shots. Fury was very impressive in the first round with some nice moves and a cross-armed defense almost reminiscent of James Toney. He jabbed well and opened up with both hands, landing both, to  the head and the body, leaving Till to try and fend him off with the jab, as he tried to whether the storm. The fight changed in the 2nd round as Fury, after being in control in the opener, seemed winded, and Till perhaps sensing this, came at Fury with a two- handed assault of his own, which had Fury on the ropes. Fury still landed some good jabs, but his work was only sporadic and his defense was falling apart.

The 3rd round saw Till outworking Fury, who was having trouble lifting up his arms.  Fury landed punches carried more weight, but his work was too little, as Till landed some good shots while the two engaged in some good exchanges. The round, though close, seemed to be one clearly for Till.

The 4th and final round saw Till with a clear upper hand, as Fury seemed to find it hard to throw a punch. With a large contingent of supporters in the audience, Fury tried to muster up some attack, but once again he was clearly out-worked, and out- punched by Till, who seemed inspired, and looked to have done more than enough to bring off a upset win. 

When Fury was duly declared the winner, the result pleased the audience, but seemed to be very harsh upon Mark Till, to be quite blunt; he was robbed of what should have been a very good debut victory that would have made his name. Dempsey Fury showed enough in the 1st round of this fight to indicate that he is a genuine talent, but he needs to seriously look at his conditioning if he is to have any meaningful future in the professional arena. 

Another outstanding fight of the night was light-middleweights Nathan Weise 8-4-2 (2kos) and Faheem Khan 5-1-2, who engaged in a contest that ebbed and flowed through out its six rounds. The contest was a good mix of styles, with southpaw Khan stalking and looking to land heavy punches, while Weise has a nice boxing style, which features a very good left jab. 

The 1st round, Khan came forward and poked out his southpaw jab, but looking to land the left hand, while Weise boxed nice behind his left hand, bringing in an occasional right hand too.

Weise started the 2nd round as he had the opener, spearing Khan with his jab, as Khan stalked and both men showed some good feints while they looked for openings. Just past the midway period of the round, Khan landed a big left hand, and Weise went down heavily. Weise got to his feet at nine, but was clearly hurt, and found himself under heavy attack from khan for the remainder of the round. 

The 3rd and 4th rounds saw Khan pretty much in control, as Weise concentrated on defense, and tried to fend off Khans attacks. Khan came forward, landing his heavy looking left hooks and uppercuts, but Weise showed both grit and guile to come through these attacks, while Khan made his assaults a little too wild in his enthusiasm to end matters.

Weise had recovered his composure enough by the 5th round to get his boxing back together and start landing his jab again, and making it difficult for Khan to land his heavy shots. Weise mixed his jabs up with some good right hands too; Khan didn’t help his cause by concentring almost entirely on his left hand, rather than varying his work a little or attempting to use his southpaw jab.

The 6th and final round was a close one, with Weise trying to keep his distance from the oncoming Khan, and pot shotting him with jabs and right hands, while Khan landed some good shots, but spent too long looking for the knockout punch.

At the end, Khan was a worthy winner, with the second round knockdown proving to be the crucial difference between the two men.  Like the main event, this is another fight that would make a good rematch.

In a flyweight tussle that opened the evening, the promising Bradley Watson 7-0(2kos) got off to a slow start against Bulgarian Stefan Slavchev 3-8 (1ko) before upping the pace in the second, and stopping the Bulgarian with a tremendous body attack in the 3rd round.

Lightweights Ben Day 5-0-1(1ko) and Paul Haines 0-9-1 engaged in a lively four rounder, and Haines looked to be unlucky not to come out with what would have been the first victory of his career so far. Although the rounds were close, Haines seemed to be landing far more shots on Day, who seemed troubled by Haines’ aggressive and busy style. In the end, though Haines had to be content with a draw verdict, rather than a win, which would have been the upset of the night.

In his 2nd outing as a professional, Tony Milch 2-0 outscored the slippery Bheki Moyo 0-61 over four rounds. Despite his losing record, Moyo is a wily boxer, and managed to keep himself out of trouble, even while being comprehensively out-boxed by Milch.

Judging by the full house, this was another successful show for Mickey Helliet’s Hellraiser Promotions, and a further indication that the boxing scene in London is far from dead. At a time when the main TV channels seemed to have turned their backs on the sport, shows like this are keeping boxing alive in the UK.  

Copyright © 2013 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com watch fight;

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Ken Norton, One Of The Greats of Boxing’s Golden Age Passes At 70

By Peter Silkov

Ken Norton, who has died at the age of 70, was one of the outstanding figures at a time when Heavyweight boxing ruled the world of sports in the 1970s. It was a time that saw the heavyweight division at its most talented and exciting, and Norton was one of the best of this time, alongside the legendary Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes and, of course, Muhammad Ali.

Indeed, there is a good argument for saying that Ken Norton gave Ali more trouble in their three fights, than anyone else, including Joe Frazier. While Ali’s fights with Frazier were wars of attrition, Norton, with his idiosyncratic crossed armed defence, (similar to that used by the legendary Archie Moore) posed Ali with a far more technical problems. Norton crablike style meant that he was able to nullify Ali’s most potent weapon, his jab, leaving Ali needing to be at his most versatile and resourceful in all three of their fights. A trilogy which immortalized Norton in Heavyweight history.

Born in Jacksonville Illinois, 9th July 1943, Ken Norton made a comparatively late start to boxing, picking up the gloves for the first time while he was in the Marines after being an outstanding athlete and football player while at high school. After being turned down for a place in the 1967 Pan American games, due to his unique style Norton turned professional that same year at the age of 24. Standing six foot three, Norton was an imposing heavyweight, with a speed and athleticism that belied his muscular size. In addition to his style which so many of his opponents found problematic, Norton also possessed a great jab of his own and underrated power.

From late 1967 to 1973 Norton suffered just one defeat in thirty contests, and was rising steadily up the rankings, but was still basically an unknown when he entered the ring on 31st March 1973 to face the former world champion Muhammad Ali for the NABF Heavyweight title. The ensuring upset, which saw Norton defeat Ali on points after 12 gruelling rounds, and breaking ‘The Greatest’s’ jaw in the process, made headlines worldwide, and turned an unknown fighter into a star. Seven months later the two met for the second time, and this time Ali got his revenge, but the fight was another hotly contested classic, with the split decision win for Ali, proving that Norton’s earlier victory was no fluke.

Despite losing the Ali rematch, Norton was granted a world title shot against the then seemingly invincible George Foreman, and was stopped in the 2nd round after being floored three times. This defeat, like his later losses to Earnie Shavers and Gerry Cooney showed that Norton’s style left him vulnerable when pushed back by big punchers. These defeats have hurt Norton’s legacy somewhat in the years since his retirement, with the perception of him lacking durability. However it is worth remembering that Foreman and Shavers were two of the hardest punching heavyweights in the history of the division.

After the Foreman defeat Norton built up a string of victories, which included a impressive 5th round win over Jerry Quarry, before facing Muhammad Ali for the 3rd time on September 28th 1976, this time with the world championship on the line.

After what turned out to be the pairs least exciting, but most controversial clash, Ali retained his world championship on a narrow but unanimous points decision, after outfoxing Norton with his ’rope-a-dope’ strategy. Norton wept at the verdict, believing he had won.

Throughout his boxing career Norton was a strong believer in the power of positive thinking, and he bounced back from the Ali defeat with a win over the ultra slippery Jimmy Young, on 5th November 1977 in a fight billed as a WBC world title fight eliminator.

On March 18th 1978 Norton was declared ‘World champion’ by the WBC, after newly crowned world champion Leon Spinks, having beaten Muhammad Ali in February, decided to grant ’The Greatest’ a rematch, rather than face the WBC’s number one contender Norton.

Norton made the first defence of his ’world title’ on June 9th 1978 against an unbeaten young contender named Larry Holmes, who had modelled his style on Muhammad Ali. The two men took part in what is considered by many as one of the greatest heavyweight title fights ever, culminating in probably the single most frenetic last round of a heavyweight title fight ever seen, with both men stood toe to toe, pummelling each other. After 15 rounds Holmes was judged the winner via split decision, and Norton was left with the ironic record of being the only heavyweight champion never to have won a world title fight. A cruel label for such an outstanding fighter. Holmes would later prove himself to be one of the great champions.

Norton’s career went into decline after the Holmes fight, he was koed in the 1st round by the huge punching Earnie Shavers, in March 1979 and then held to a draw by Scott Ledoux that same year. After over a year of inactivity, Norton looked a faded force when he narrowly outpointed Randall ’Tex’ Cobb in late 1980, and six months later a brutal 1st round stoppage loss to Gerry Cooney signalled the end of Norton’s career.
After retiring from the ring Ken Norton was still in demand, and took part in a number of films in addition to becoming a popular boxing commentator during the early and mid 1980s.

Norton had emerged from his boxing career fit and eloquent, so it was a cruel quirk of fate when he was left clinging to life after a severe car crash in 1986. Doctors doubted that he would survive, let alone walk or talk again. But with the fighting spirit and positive thinking which had served him so well during his boxing career, Norton survived and made a remarkable recovery, although he was left with impaired speech and movement from his injuries.

In the years since the 70s and 80s the boxing fans fascination with the ’golden era’ of heavyweight boxing has grown and grown, just as interest in the modern day division has diminished. Norton was a frequent guest at boxing memorabilia shows and was always happy to talk to fans about his boxing career. After being part of such a talented era, his own ability is often underrated. Had Ken Norton been part of a less talented division, it is highly likely that he would have been the dominant heavyweight of his era. As it was Norton was one of the best, in a golden era which is unlikely ever to be repeated.

Here are a few videos of the late great Ken Norton:




 Copyright © 2013 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com

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Roman Gonzalez: The Little Champion Searching For Recognition

By Peter Silkov


There is a wise saying, which states that the best things come in small packages. This belief however has often been overlooked in boxing, where traditionally bigger has always been seen as better. Hence the enormous popularity historically of the Heavyweight division. In comparison to the big men, boxing’s smaller fighters, in the lower weight divisions, have always had to fight that bit harder for recognition. Especially those in the divisions below Featherweight.  

The irony is that these divisions often produce some of the most exciting contests that the sport has to offer, but are too often ignored by the mainstream, at least in part due to the fact that these lower divisions are mainly populated by Latin and Asian boxers.

While in recent years the general popularity of the Lightweight, Welterweight and Middleweight divisions has overtaken the interest of the heavyweight class, fighters in boxing’s lowest divisions still struggle to gain the wider acclaim that their larger contemporaries take for granted.

Roman Gonzalez (35-0, 29kos) is a prime example of an outstanding fighter whose size has conspired to marginalize his profile. At 26 years of age the unbeaten ’El Chocolatito’ is already a two weight world champion, with ten successful world title fights behind him. Gonzalez’s problem is that his world titles have come from boxing’s lightest divisions, Minimum-weight (105 pounds) and Light-Flyweight (108 pounds). ’El Chocolatito’ won his first world title when he captured the WBA world minimum-weight title by stopping the talented Yataka Niidain the 4th round on September 15th 2008. Then after four defences, Gonzalez moved up a weight, and captured the WBA world light-flyweight title with a points victory over the rugged Manuel Vargas on 19th March 2011.

Having made four successful defences of his WBA light-flyweight championship, Gonzalez now finds himself struggling to find decent opposition. ’El Chocolatito’ is a smooth and well balanced boxer-puncher, whose formidable reputation is scaring away prospective opposition, as possible challengers for his title look elsewhere to try and win a world championship. Gonzalez last defended his World title in November last year, when he out-pointed Juan Francisco Estrada, after a furious contest. Ironically since their fight, the very talented Estrada has gone on to win the WBO and WBA World flyweight championship, by beating the highly touted Brian Viloria, and has already made a successful first defence. In addition to this, Estrada has enjoyed a higher profile in his World Flyweight title fights, due to them both taking place on Bob Arums recent China promotions. The fact that Estrada is looking more and more like a special talent in his own right, underlines the ability of Gonzalez.

‘El Chocolatito’ meanwhile, has fought only once so far this year, a 5th round stoppage defeat of Ronald Barrera in a May non title fight. Gonzalez has spent much of this year chasing a fight with the popular and undefeated Kazuto Ioka, who was made the WBA ’regular’ world champion late last year, while Gonzalez was elevated to ’super champion’ (in another prime example of the ’world boxing bodies’ devaluing the whole concept of world champions and world championships!). But with no showdown with Ioka forthcoming, Gonzalez has instead turned his attention to the flyweight division.

On Saturday 21st September, Gonzalez will face fringe contender Francisco Rodriguez Jr, (11-1, 9kos) at the Crown Plaza, Managua, Nicaragua, in a non title fight at Flyweight. This fight is seen as a tune up for Gonzalez for a possible November challenge of Juan Carlos Reveco, for the WBA world flyweight title.
Not much is known about Rodriguez Jr, beyond that he is a typical tough Mexican fighter, who can be expected to give his all against ’El Chocolatito’, but barring a huge lapse in focus or concentration, he is unlikely to upset Gonzalez’s plans for an assault upon the flyweight division.

At 26 years of age Gonzalez is seen by many as the best boxer to come out of Nicaragua since the great Alexis Arguello. While fighting as an amateur, Gonzalez spent some time being trained by the legendary Arguello, and some of ’The Thin Man’s” magic seems to have rubbed off upon ‘El Chocolatito‘. He is a very well schooled boxer technically, with dynamite power in both hands, and very exciting to watch. Indeed, it is hard to see Gonzalez not becoming a big hit with the wider boxing audience, if he was just given the proper exposure.

Moving up to the more traditional flyweight division will give Gonzalez greater opportunities to find the big fights and higher profile which has eluded him at light-flyweight. There are a number of interesting possible fights for Gonzalez at 112 pounds, including a possible rematch with his former challenger Juan Francisco Estrada and a clash with the former WBO and WBA world flyweight champion Brian ‘The Hawaiian punch’ Viloria. The potential rematch with Estrada especially, has a feel of a mini classic about it.

But first Gonzalez has to negotiate Francisco Rodriguez Jr this Saturday, and tune ups can be funny things sometimes, especially if a fighter is looking too far into the future and not close enough at the present. The chances are though that Gonzalez will score an impressive stoppage win within the first 3 rounds and signal that the world’s most feared light-flyweight has begun his invasion of the flyweight division.

 Copyright © 2013 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com

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Floyd Mayweather Proves That He Is Still The One

By Peter Silkov

Many had wondered whether this was to be the night when the torch of the world’s number one fighter, pound for pound, was to be passed; whether by fair means or foul, from Floyd May weather (45-0, 26kos), to Saul ’Canelo’ Alvarez (42-1-1, 30kos).

Alvarez told us that this was his time. Oscar De La Hoya told us this was Alvarez’s time (and that he had given ’Canelo’ the blueprint with which to beat Mayweather). Floyd was fighting someone far younger and stronger than him, who already had a fan base to rival his own. Some begun to think of it as fate, that Floyd was about to lose his crown. Fate, and a little bit more perhaps, as the biggest powerbrokers in boxing were rumoured to be rubbing their hands at the prospect of Saul Alvarez unseating ’Money Mayweather’ from atop of the boxing world. Saul with his 40,000 ready-made Mexican fans. It was meant to be… it seemed.
However, we shouldn’t have worried. Floyd Mayweather last night showed the meaning behind the saying ’skills pay the bills’ when he treated the record breaking audience and Saul ’Canelo’ Alvarez to a boxing master class, and unified the WBC and WBA World light-middleweight titles in the process.

Yet, this was not Mayweather simply laying on the ropes and being content to counter himself to victory as he did against Gurrerro earlier this year. Against Alvarez, Mayweather was at his most positive and aggressive since the Ricky Hatton fight, perhaps aware that he needed to win rounds clearly and decisively against the popular challenger in front of him.

Floyd was on the front foot from the start, scoring with his jab early, as Alvarez, usually known for his aggression, boxed on the retreat, and looked to counter.

As the fight unfolded, it became clear that Alvarez was attempting to beat Mayweather by using Oscar De La Hoya’s self-proclaimed ‘blueprint’ for beating ‘Pretty Boy’. Oscar’s belief is that the key to victory over Mayweather is to out-jab him on the outside, with jabs to the head and body, and then smother Floyd’s famed counters with combinations.

This is obviously no easy task, and the small fact that De La Hoya was himself well- beaten by Mayweather in their showdown in 2007 (despite the fight going to a split decision!,) isn’t exactly a glowing reference for his ‘blueprint’.

As it is, Alvarez has a good jab himself, but he was never going to beat Mayweather on a jab-based strategy. This was Mayweather’s show from beginning to end, as he dominated with his own sharp jabs, which landed with increasing regularity, and potency as the fight progressed. Alvarez‘s jabs were mostly taken on Mayweather’s gloves, or shoulder, or avoided altogether. With Floyd’s replies lightning fast and accurate. Mixing his jabs with potent-looking right hooks, and later in the fight, some beautiful uppercuts. Alvarez kept his guard high and tight, and at times it was only this that saved him from being completely overwhelmed by the quicksilver boxing artist in front of him.

Floyd made good use of the ring, with the nimble footwork of a boxer ten years younger. Indeed, by the end of this fight, it would be the 23-year-old Alvarez, rather than the 36-year-old Mayweather, who would be looking heavy legged.

Yet, despite using good movement, Mayweather spent long periods stood in front of Alvarez, like a teacher taunting a pupil, as he dodged or Alvarez’s punches, then landed his own replies. On the few occasions that the Mexican did land a solid shot or two, Mayweather would fire back with added spite in his shots.
Mayweather is often cited as not having a ’punch,’ but along with his speed of hand, he has enough power in his punches to dissuade his opponents from simply attempting to walk through his shots in their efforts to beat him.

Alvarez found himself hitting thin air for much of the night, even with his tormenter just inches away from him, and when he did try to open up with his combinations, Alvarez found himself picked apart, until he retreated back into his high-guarded shell.

The difference in physical size between the pair was clear to see, but size and strength, even when allied with good technique, is no match for the mixture of speed and skills that Mayweather brings to every fight. At times, it looked as if Floyd could have stopped Alvarez if he had really tried, but whether it is out of concern for his hands, or a simple apathy to gaining stoppages, Floyd seemed happy to let this go the distance.
Floyd’s performance was artistic in its execution, at 36, it seems hard to pick any visible sign of decay or decline in his fighting makeup. Indeed, it could be said that Floyd is still at his physical peak and reunited now with his father, is a better boxer than ever.

Yes, we worried about something strange happening on this night, and there was a little scare when the judge’s scorecards were read out, and a certain C.J Ross saw the fight as 114-114; a draw. Luckily, the other judges saw it 117-111 and 116-112, but one has to wonder, what might have happened if Floyd had not have taken such a proactive role in this fight, and fought with an unusual aggression for him. Clearly, he had felt the need to display his dominance throughout this fight, and not trust the judges to give him close rounds.

There will be excuses now, with some citing that Alvarez was too inexperienced, too young, or just simply not good enough, but the fact remains that Mayweather took on a fighter picked by many to be the next star of boxing, and schooled him with a lesson in boxing at its sweetest. As for anyone who may cite the ’catch-weight’ aspect of this fight having any bearing on the result, Alvarez outweighed Mayweather on the night by 15 pounds, if we are to have truly ’fair’ fights with no catch weights, then let us have fighters weighing the same on fight-night, not 24 hours before fight night. After all this is why weight divisions were introduced in the first place.

People will debate how Mayweather stands in boxing history, in comparison to boxing immortals, such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran. But, few would convincingly dispute that Mayweather is the outstanding boxer of his generation, and that within the general scope of his fighting weight, there seems no one capable of beating him, including Manny Pacquiao.

Prior to the Mayweather performance, the crowd were treated to an exciting clash between Danny Garcia (27-0, 16kos) and Lucas Matthysse (34-3, 32kos), in a unification battle for the fighter’s WBA and WBC world light-welterweight titles. The big hitting Matthysse entered the ring as a huge favourite, not only to win, but also to win early with one of his thunderous punches. However, from the start, Garcia showed the ring skill which many did not believe he possessed. He worked off the jab, while pot-shotting with the right hand. Matthysse came forward constantly, but in echoes of Floyd Mayweather’s later performance, Garcia either dodged or blocked most of the shots, and showed a sturdy chin to take the one, which got through without flinching.

The early rounds were close with Matthysse showing the more power, but Garcia edging the rounds with his superior boxing skill, and punch variety. Too often Matthysse seemed to be waiting to land the knockout punch, which had made him such a favourite to win this fight. Again, this contest was to be a case of ’skills paying the bills’.

Skills along with a healthy dose of durability and a decent right hand too.
By the middle rounds, Garcia’s jab had closed Matthysse’s right eye, and he had gained a dominant hold on the fight. With Matthysse having trouble seeing on the right side, Garcia opened up even more, with heavy right hands and left hooks, but Matthysse continued to come forward, almost blindly, and land some good shots to Garcia’s body.

It was perhaps this body attack that was behind Garcia fading in the 10th round, when he was hurt badly for the first time in the fight and it looked at if Matthysse might be able to gain the stoppage, that he seemingly now needed in order to gain victory.

Garcia once again showed his fighting heart by coming back in the 11th round to floor Matthysse for the first time in his career, with a combination to the head and body. The knockdown regained Garcia’s hold on the fight, and even though he lost a point in the last round for a low blow, his victory was already sealed by then.
The fight ended with a flourish, as both men went toe to toe, for the final 30 seconds.

With this victory, Garcia has shown that he is more than just a durable slugger from Philadelphia who can box a bit. He is a genuine champion, who has established himself as the number one fighter at light welterweight, and at age 26, seems to be still improving.

He may now also find himself offered a shot at Floyd Mayweather himself.

 Copyright © 2013 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com watch fight;

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