Mayweather, Khan, and Maidana – Who Gets the Fight?

02/06/2014 by Michael Byrne

may4 By Michael Byrne: So Floyd Mayweather Jr. has opened up the floor to his fans on whether he fights Amir Khan or Marcos Maidana next, and the opinions are swaying in Maidana’s favour. This is because, for all the talk Khan gives, he doesn’t deserve the shot and he doesn’t have the fan base he claims to have. He is a big name, doubtless: everyone who knows anything of boxing knows of Amir Khan. But most people just want him to shut his mouth.

Khan has a very large Pakistani-British following, for obvious reasons, but outside of that his arrogance and delusion, and failure to back up his talk in the ring, have earned him little respect. Khan got knocked out by Danny Garcia in 2012 in a fight he was expected to win, and since then has beaten Carlos Molina and Julio Diaz (just).

Ortiz vs. Collazo – The Quitter and The Resurrected

01/31/201401/31/2014 by Michael Byrne

ortiz1 By Michael Byrne: Going into the fight on Thursday, Victor Ortiz was the heavy favorite over Luis Collazo. In fact, a cynic might say that Collazo was there to allow Ortiz a soft return to the ring against a known name. It was supposed to be easier than the originally inked Ortiz – Carlos Molina fight on the Adrien Broner – Marcos Maidana undercard. However, Collazo knocked Ortiz out in the second and showed that he was not to be taken lightly.

Collazo wasn’t washed up like some critics were suggesting, and the first round demonstrated both men were there to win. The first round was tight, with both men landing punches and taking turns at being aggressive. Maybe Ortiz was a bit busier, but it was just an opportunity for both men to seize each other up. Collazo looked much better in the second. Ortiz was over-eager, and despite his pre-fight claims, was definitely rusty. He was constantly off-balance, his timing was poor, and he had trouble throwing combinations.

Why Mayweather vs. Khan Would Be an Awful Idea For Everyone

12/19/2013 by Michael Byrne

khan9 By Michael Byrne: So if this fight – Floyd Mayweather vs. Amir Khan on May 3rd – gets announced, which Khan is insistent that it will, there is almost nothing that could be gained from it in any sense. There is such a variety of problems with this fight.

Firstly, Mayweather needs to be taking on big names at this point in his career. He doesn’t have many fights left in him and it’s time to cement his legacy. And even if he doesn’t care about his legacy and just wants to make cash, he still needs big names to attract PPV buys. Khan isn’t really a name anymore. He was knocked out by Breidis Prescott, but he recovered and rebuilt.

Maidana, Broner, Thurman, Malignaggi: Noise at 147

12/17/2013 by Michael Byrne

By Michael Byrne: Last Saturday night the welterweight division saw some big action at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Marcos Maidana’s domination of WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KO’s) is capturing all of the headlines, and understandably so.

In a quick ‘something to think about’ before the fight, I offered the suggestion that if lightweight Gavin Rees was able to find Broner’s chin in their fight earlier this year in February, then the similar-but-wildly-superior Maidana would be able to do the same. However, whether you were one of the few who expected Maidana to become champion again or not, I think pretty much everyone was surprised by just how badly Broner was dominated.

Hittable Broner: A Quick Thought

12/14/2013 by Michael Byrne

By Michael Byrne: WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner (27-0, 22 KO’s) has dismissed Marcos Maidana’s power by claiming power is useless if you can’t land your punches, thereby claiming his speed and defensive capabilities will leave Maidana (34-3, 31 KO’s) missing all night in their fight tonight on Showtime at the Alamodome in San Antonio Texas.

Former WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi was able to find Broner all night with beautiful combinations last June, although Broner did take the sting off a lot of these shots with his gloves. And Malignaggi is a much faster, accurate puncher than Maidana.

Paulie Malignaggi: Almost Great

12/09/2013 by Michael Byrne

By Michael Byrne: Let me begin this article with a diagnosis of Paulie Malignaggi. Everyone knows Paulie has limited power, but he is undeniably an elite boxer. Paulie statistically has the best jab in boxing: he throws more than anyone else, and he lands it more than anyone else. In the 6th round against Zab Judah last Saturday night, Showtime’s stats had Paulie throwing 32 jabs and landing half of them. This is absurd.

Now, I’m not saying Paulie has the ‘best’ jab in boxing, because he doesn’t, but he understands the importance of it and he uses it to his advantage better than almost anyone else. Particularly in the Adrien Broner and Vyacheslav Senchenko fights, Malignaggi was keen to lead with the jab and throw a large arsenal of punches behind it in beautiful combinations.

The Face of British Boxing – Froch Out, Barker In?

12/03/2013 by Michael Byrne

By Michael Byrne: Carl Froch’s legacy is in tatters. It’s not even George Groves’s fault: it’s his own. He displayed arrogance in trying to undermine Groves. He displayed delusion in insisting that the referee made the right call, even when the entire stadium was booing him in the post-fight interview.

His limited boxing ability was exposed, and it became clear that he is a boxer who relies too heavily upon a granite chin and big power carried in wild swings. One could also argue that these poor qualities were already apparent in his game. He constantly talks about his legacy, and yes he has fought everyone around, but he has never been particularly humble about his achievements or respectful to his opponents. He has never outright admitted that ward beat him fairly because Ward is simply better than him. So Froch has lost a lot of popularity, and he doesn’t seem to be searching in the right places to try and regain it.

Jeff Lacy Makes a Questionable Comeback

12/02/2013 by Michael Byrne

By Michael Byrne: This weekend saw Jeff Lacy back in the ring for the first time since being embarrassed by Dhafir Smith in 2010. His fight was against Martin Verdin (20-16-2), so it’s clear he plans on taking the comeback slowly, which is advisable: he didn’t look too good.

Chisora stops Pala in the Third: Controversial but Rightful Stoppage

11/30/2013 by Michael Byrne

By Michael Byrne: Already people are in uproar about about British heavyweight Derekc Chisora’s third-round stoppage win tonight over Ondrej Pala. Chisora, a few feet away from the corner with his back to it, beat Pala into the corner with hard combinations, leaving Pala slumped over the corner, and his arms over the ropes. Chisora then proceeded to rabbit punch him flush in the back of the head, and throw another hook around the head, before the ref stepped in and waved it off without counting or consulting Pala.

Austin Trout and Steve Cunningham: Fantastic Losers

04/24/201304/24/2013 by Michael Byrne

By Michael Byrne: Austin Trout and Steve Cunningham were both on the losing side on Saturday night, with Trout losing his ‘0’ and USS finding himself glued to the canvas. However, they can both draw some big positives from their losses. Both men spoke well in their ring interviews after their defeats: Trout was incredibly humble, and Cunningham was honest and accepting.

Trout could have complained about the ‘hometown’ judging, especially the 118-109 verdict, but instead decided to accept his defeat and praise Canelo. Presumably, he is not sat at home looking for a ‘man-in-the-hat’ on the replays. Cunningham could have complained about Tyson Fury being anything but gentlemanly, but instead managed to make Fury look even more dishonorable by showing how a gentleman really should act.