The Boxing Glove

Sunday, January 3, 2016

The 2015 Boxing Glove Awards: Breakout Fighter of the Year: Chris Eubank, Jr.

The Boxing Glove Breakout Fighter of the Year 2015
Chris Eubank Jr.

Chris Eubank Jr started 2015 with a vicious show of boxing and punching against the previously unbeaten Dmitry Chudinov on February 28th. Eubank cut Chudinov’s face into a bloody mask and stopped him in the 12th round. After an easy ‘ticking over’ 2nd round victory over Tony Jeter in October, Eubank ended the year with a thrilling 7th round stoppage win over the highly regarded Gary ’Spike’ O’Sullivan. Despite visibly having the skills and speed to outbox O’Sullivan safely, Eubank Jr. chose to go toe-to-toe with the Irishman from the first bell, resulting in some scintillating, and savage exchanges. When the dust had settled after 6 rounds of full throttle action, it was O’Sullivan who was being pulled out of the fight by his corner, after he was battered to a standstill by Eubank Jr.

Eubank Jr. has a tough act to follow in his father, Chris Eubank Sr. In 2015, Eubank Jr. showed that he had the physical talent, and mental toughness to bounce right back from his only career defeat (to Billy Joe Saunders in late 2014), and show marked improvement in each of his 3 outings in 2015. Eubank Jr. has already shown that he is a real world class talent, who could follow in his father footsteps, and win a world title. He is now the number one challenger for WBA world middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs, but has already been talking about taking on the undisputed number one 160-fighter in the world, Gennady Golovkin. One thing for sure is that, 2015 saw Chris Eubank Jr. prove himself to be far more than just the son of a famous ex- champion. He is now a rising star in his own right.

Watch Chris Eubank, Jr. VS. Gary 'Spike' O'Sullivan fight:

The 2015 Boxing Glove Awards: Upset of the Year: Tyson Fury W12 Wladimir Klitschko

The Boxing Glove Upset Of The Year 2015
Tyson Fury W12 Wladimir Klitschko
November 28, 2015, Espirit Arena, Dusseldorf, Germany.
Won IBF, WBO, WBA World Heavyweight Championships

No one gave Tyson Fury a chance of unseating Wladimir Klitschko and becoming Heavyweight champion of the world, no one that is save for a small collection of fans, Fury’s family, and Fury himself. Tyson had actually spent the past few years telling people that he would beat Klitschko, and not just that he would beat him, but that it would be one of his easiest fights. In the end, that’s just what it was for Fury, who didn’t just win, but won with ease over the long-reigning Klitschko in what was the biggest upset in the heavyweight division since Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson.

Watch the fight:

Кличко - Фьюри полный бой - Vladimir Klitschko... by smotrinas

Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com

Saturday, January 2, 2016

The 2015 Boxing Glove Awards: The Rocky Award: Nathan Cleverly

The Boxing Glove Rocky Of The Year 2015
Nathan Cleverly L12 Andrzej Fonfara
October16, 2015. UIC Pavilion, Chicago.

11 months ago when Nathan Cleverly lost s 12-rounds point’s decision to Tony Bellew, many questioned whether he had a future in boxing. Cleverly’s performance against Bellew had been listless and enigmatic, like someone who no longer wanted to fight. It looked like the end of the road for Cleverly, who had moved up to the cruiserweight division in the wake of losing his WB0 world light-heavyweight title in a crushing defeat to Sergey Kovalev in August 2013. The loss to Bellew at cruiserweight, seemed to expose Cleverly as a spent force, a fighter who had been permanently damaged by his traumatic defeat at the hands of ‘The Krusher’ Sergey Kovalev.

On October 16, 2015, after moving back down to light-heavyweight, Nathan Cleverly traveled over to Chicago to meet Polish hardman Andrzej Fonfara. At the end of 12 bruising, brutal rounds, in one of the fights of the year, Nathan Cleverly was adjudged the point’s loser. But, as always with the strange game, which is boxing, Nathan Cleverly had won far more than he had really lost in the course of this fight. Cleverly went toe-to-toe with Fonfara for 12 rounds, at times fighting with the mad abandon of someone who had suddenly rediscovered his hunger for fighting.

In the 7th round, Fonfara unleashed a sizzling attack upon Cleverly, forcing the Welshman to cover up as Fonfara threw punch after punch upon him. When it looked as if Cleverly must break and go down under the prolonged attack, Cleverly suddenly retaliated with an attack of his own, grinning as he did so through a mask of blood that was caused by a badly injured nose. The round summed up the fight and Cleverly’s attitude throughout the match. It was a performance worthy of the name ’Rocky.’

Sometimes in boxing you don’t need to win the fight to come out the winner. Despite losing to Fonfara, Nathan Cleverly re-ignited his career with one of the gutsiest performances of the year. It was the type of performance which will almost certainly guarantee Cleverly some important fights in the near future, perhaps even a shot at the World light-heavyweight title.

Watch the fight:

Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com

The 2015 Boxing Glove Awards: Round of the year: Edwin Rodriguez KO 3 Michael Seals

The Boxing Glove Round Of The Year 2015
Edwin Rodriguez vs. Michael Seals
Round 1
November 13, 2015. Beau Rivage Resort and Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi.

This 1st round of what was also The Boxing Gloves ‘Fight of The Year.’ It had everything that a classic round needs three knockdowns, with both fighters hitting the deck, and several changes in fortune, it was a great round and a major part of what was the fight of the year.

Watch the round:

Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com

The 2015 Boxing Glove Awards: Knockout of the Year: Vincente Ko 3 Dominguez

The Boxing Glove Knockout Of The Year 2015
Yenifel Vincente KO 3 Juan Dominguez
December 8, 2015, Sun National Bank Center, Trenton, New Jersey.

In a fight that pitted two Dominican Republic born 122-pound, super-bantamweight, fighters against each other, for the main event of this televised Premier Boxing Champions show, both these fighters had a lot on the line going into this fight. Firstly, both fighters had been born in the Dominican Republic before settling in America, (Dominguez in Brooklyn, New York, and Vincente in Miami, Florida) so there was a lot of personal pride at stake between these two boxers. Dominguez went into the match unbeaten in 19 fights, with 13 koes, while Vincente entered the match with a 28(20koes)-3-2 record.

The action was frenetic from the start, as both men bombarded each other with shots, Dominguez throwing straighter more deliberate punches, while Vincente threw his punches in more flashy clusters. The 1st round ended about even, and the fighting continued at the same breathless pace in the 2nd round, with the only break in the action coming when Dominguez was warned twice by the referee for punches that were straying low. Both times Vincente was given some time to rest and recuperate from the low punches. To be fair, Dominguez did not look like he was hitting low purposely, rather he was being over-anxious in his efforts to land his body shots. At the end of the 2nd, there was still little in it, and much depended upon whose work you liked best, Dominguez’s more rangy punch-picking, or Vincente’s explosive combinations.

The 3rd round started off just like the first two rounds, with both men taking turns to unload their shots, while looking for a crack in the armory of their opponent. That chink in the armor finally showed itself a little after 10 seconds of the rounds beginning, when a sudden, vicious, overhand right from Vincente that caught Dominguez flush on the jaw, just as he was throwing a punch of his own. Dominguez fell to the canvas face first, landing on his side, before toppling onto his back. Dominguez was out cold before he even hit the deck, prompting referee Earl Brown to stop the fight instantly, without a count. It was a spectacular, but scary knockout. As Vincente jumped high into the air, and let out a victory cry, Dominguez lay unconscious, being attended to by his corner men and several medics. After some minutes, Dominguez was taken from the ring on a stretcher as an elated yet concerned Vincente looked on. Once more boxing’s power to be bitter sweet had been savagely displayed. One mans triumph was another’s defeat.

Watch the fight:

Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com

Friday, January 1, 2016

The 2015 Boxing Glove Awards: Fight of the Year: Rodriguez vs. Seals

The Boxing Glove Fight of the Year 2015

Edwin Rodriguez KO 3 Michael Seals

November 13, 2015, Beau Rivage Resort and Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi.

This was a short, but sweet fight for any boxing fan that appreciates the rougher, more basic side of the sport. This fight wasn’t about the scientific side of the sweet science. Look instead under the heading of “sweet brutality” for this fight. Light-heavyweight Edwin Rodriguez’s nickname is ‘La Bomba’ and it was ‘bombs away’ from the first bell as Rodriguez (28-1, 19koes) went after the unbeaten, but largely untested Michael Seals (19-1, 14koes) looking like he wanted to end the fight with his first punches.

The sudden attack had an instant result, as Seals stumbled to the canvas after just 20 seconds of the 1st round. After Seals beat the count, Rodriguez went after him, looking for the finish, only to run into a counter by Seals, which had him falling to the floor. Rodriguez seemed noticeably hurt by the knockdown, and took a long count upon one knee before rising. With both men knowing that they had the power to hurt the other, the round continued on even terms, and at a slightly calmer pace, as Seals showed a good jab, and Rodriguez continued to come forwards, and lash out with wilder, yet more powerful looking shots of his own. In the last 10 seconds of the round, Seals, after having been forced back to the ropes, caught Rodriguez with a short and sharp right hand. Rodriguez fell to the canvas, like he had been shot, turning as he fell, so that he landed flat onto his face upon the canvas.

Few fighters beat the count when they suffer such knockdowns, and Rodriguez almost didn’t make it either. Stumbling back onto his haunches at his first attempt at regaining his feet, Rodriguez still didn’t know where he was when he finally got back to his feet and had to be helped back to his corner by his corner men when the bell sounded to end the round moments later.

Amazingly, Rodriguez had made a remarkable recovery by the start of the 2nd round, as both men tried their best to take out the other with one punch. Seals using his slicker counter-punching, while Rodriguez came forward, with his do or die, caveman-like approach. In the last 30 seconds of the round Rodriguez had cornered Seals on the ropes, and sent him down to the canvas with a series of chopping punches. Seals staggered to his feet looking like a Friday night drunk, as he pulled himself upright with the help of the ropes. In fact, Seals was so out of it after he regained his feet, that he turned his head, and seemed to be having a conversation with someone outside the ring while he was taking the mandatory 8 count. But just as Rodriguez had been saved by the bell at the end of the 1st round, Seals was saved by the bell to end the 2nd.

The 3rd round found Rodriguez looking for the finish once more against Seals, who had not recovered fully from the knockdown in the previous round. After driving Seals back onto the ropes with a series of heavy jabs, Rodriguez landed a right-hand that sent Seals flying into the ropes, and then down onto the canvas upon his back. Seals drunkenly regained his feet once again, but this time the referee called a halt to this amazing contest, as Seals was apparently out on his feet.

Five knockdowns in three rounds, with each of the knockdowns a spectacular one, this was one of those fights which will be remembered as the kind of classic slug-fest which captures the imagination of the boxing fan.

The 2015 Boxing Glove Awards: Fighter of the Year Tyson Fury

The Boxing Glove Awards 2015

Fighter of The Year!

Tyson Fury!

Tyson Fury became The Boxing Glove’s 2015’s “Fighter of the Year” by producing the year’s biggest upset with his point’s defeat of Wladimir Klitschko. The fight itself might not have been to everyone’s taste, but few of Klitschko’s fights have been thrillers. Fury’s achievement was in beating one of the heavyweight division’s longest ever-standing champions, with a fight plan, which totally nullified, confused, and frustrated Klitschko. Fury’s victory was the most outstanding performance by a fighter in 2015, and by winning boxing’s most prestigious title he made himself one of the sports biggest stars.

Other fighters that stood out in 2015 were Gennady Golovkin, Roman Gonzalez, and Sergy Kovalev, but none of these fighters pulled off an outstanding a performance as Tyson Fury did against Klitschko.

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