Parker vs. Ruiz Jr and the mysterious illness of the Heavyweight division

12/12/2016 by matthias

Image: Parker vs. Ruiz Jr and the mysterious illness of the Heavyweight division

By Matthias Predonzan: Once upon a time there was a weight class that was not only the most important, because the fighters competing in it where the biggest and strongest athletes in the sport of boxing but also because it was a very competitive weight class, with many excellent fighters. For many years we had had epic fights, with the like of Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ken Norton fighting each other.

Then, there was a time when the level of the heavyweights was not as good but maybe just because we were comparing boxers like Larry Holmes to the previous generation mentioned before. Nonetheless we saw plenty of good fights at that time.

Andre Ward showed glimpses of greatness

11/20/2016 by matthias

By Matthias Predonzan: Unfortunately, I was right twice about last Saturday night’s Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward fight on HBO pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. When I predicted Andre Ward victory in a competitive fight but also forecasting a chorus of voices trying to diminish the value of Andre success. The argumentation that follows will try to explain to boxing fans what the sport of boxing is about.

It is a noble art where the rules are to price the contender that is able to hit more, without to be hit back that much. To impose his technique and ring generalship, as well as imposing effective aggressiveness.

is Andre Ward treated unfairly like Mayweather was?

11/19/2016 by matthias

By Matthias Predonzan: A large part of predictions, especially between journalists, for the fight between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev are in favor of the Russian fighter.
The old saying that a boxer always defeats a puncher, for some reason this time is not taken into consideration from the most of boxing reporters and commentators I have listened or red about.

There are three main reasons for this trend and if two them I find it quite reasonable, the third, honestly, I don’t understand it.

The first motivation is that Ward is moving up from super-middleweight, the weight class where he got his success through his career, into light-heavyweight, the category where Sergey Kovalev is an established champion.

Having said that, I think has to be considered that Ward is not fighting for the first time in the heavier weight class and also that Ward frame is basically the same as Kovalev. The two fighters share the same height and there is only one-inch reach in favor of Kovalev.

Charles Martin a bad choice for Anthony Joshua. Or not?

02/15/2016 by matthias

By Matthias Predonzan: During this month, boxing fans have been taken surprise with the announcements of the Amir Khan vs. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and the Anthony Joshua vs. Charles Martin fights. Canelo-Khan was really shocking news for everybody, and the Joshua-Martin fight announcement last Sunday was equally surprising that nobody expected. Joshua, 26, will be fighting IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin (23-0-1, 21 KOs) for his title on April 9 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Joshua (15-0, 15 KOs) himself and his promoter Eddie Hearn were previously very firm stating that it was too early for him to fight for a world title. Less than 2 weeks ago, Hearn articulated precisely the reason why his fighter was not going to fight against the 29-year-old Martin.

The Money Factor: Mayweather is stronger than we believe

10/02/2015 by matthias

floyd56 By Matthias Predonzan: I hate to admit it but Nico was right. I mean, he was wrong when he saw Manny Pacquiao defeating Floyd Mayweather Jr., but he was right on something else, honestly much more important.

We watched the fight together, as we do since probably 1983, every time a great fight is on the line and we kept our scorecards.

Will Mayweather return for 50th fight?

09/25/2015 by matthias

By Matthias Predonzan: Very few people involved with boxing, from the casual fan to elite fighters and trainers, believe that Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired for real after his fight against Andre Berto.

The sport of boxing is not really having a great time lately and it looks like there is not yet any fighter ready to take Mayweather’s place at the top of it.

Quite impressive were the flattering words of Robert Garcia who declared, a few days ago, that Floyd still fighting like a 25 years old young man.

Is Deontay Wilder the future of boxing?

06/15/2015 by matthias

By Paolo Predonzan: Even if this is understandable, even if we are used to it, I find it quite amusing, if not pathetic and sad. I’m talking about the nowadays habit to hide the plain truth behind a little finger, in the name of what? Of course, in the name of business!

I know, we are all desperately tired of waiting for the new King of boxing. I mean the “real king of boxing.” Floyd Mayweather Jr. cannot be considered the real king of boxing. Not enough drama in his fights and not the right size.

Chris Eubank Jr. shines despite the clinching, or because of it?

03/01/2015 by matthias

By Matthias Predonzan: Chris Eubank Jr. put together a really great performance against the Russian fighter Dmitry Chudinov at the O2 Arena in Greenwich. A performance that is now definitely moving Eubank Jr. at the top of the WBA middleweight ranking.

The fight was very intense, with Chudinov not able to adjust to Eubank Jr’s great boxing ability but opposing to him just a great pressure and an indomitable courage.

Eubank Jr. started the fight boxing well on the outside, using his jab and clinching Chudinov, at necessity, for the first 5 rounds.

Khan and Thurman dominating performances at Las Vegas MGM Grand

12/15/201412/14/2014 by matthias

By Matthias Predonzan: The performance that last night Amir Khan put together against Devon Alexander, was the best of his career. After his defeat against Danny Garcia and the poor performance in his tuning bout against Julio Diaz, it looked like Khan career could have been at its end.

Many were expecting him to lose against the solidity of Luis Collazo but in that occasion Khan displayed all his class, controlling his opponent for 12 round and winning convincingly an UD.

He did not take any risk, clinching his contender every time he needed to do it and for this reason he was criticized by some critics and fans.

Mayweather vs. Maidana 2: which kind of fight fans really want to see?

09/13/201409/13/2014 by matthias

floyd2 (Photo credit: Sumio Yamada) By Matthias Predonzan: In four months of post-fight comments and articles that followed Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Marcos Maidana’s fight, one of the most debated topics was the style of fight that Mayweather “decided” to use against Maidana, for a good part of the fight, which is to stay toe-to toe with Maidana to give the fans what they wanted.

Personally I love fighters who are gifted from the technical point of view. I like to see fights where both the contenders are good boxers but I also appreciate fights where, in the classic clash of styles, a boxer and a puncher face each other.

I find very boring fights where the two opponents are punchers with limited boxing skills and basically the strategy of the fight is to try to knock-out the other fighter, regardless of the amount of punishment that this may cost.