By Jason Kim: Since turning professional in 2007, middleweight Daniel Jacobs (13-0, 12 KOs) has quickly racked up 13 wins over almost ridiculously soft opposition, the kind that many good fighters would likely beat almost as easily as Jacobs has done. And while Jacobs has done what he’s had to do to get the wins, I’m not quite ready to drink the Kool Aid just yet and proclaim him as a future champion like so many others have already done. I don’t know if it’s me or what, but the he looks slow, very hittable, slightly over-muscled, short and not good at throwing combinations.
Boxing News
Why Isn’t Hopkins As Popular As De La Hoya?
By Matt Stein: For as long as I follow boxing, there’s something’s I’ll just never understand. Case in point, all the love an adoration given to a fighter like Oscar De La Hoya, who is good fighter, but also one that has failed over and over again in the biggest fights of his career. In the biggest PPV fights of his career, against Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., De La Hoya has lost every time, yet he still remains a much more popular fighter than someone like Hopkins.
Calzaghe – The Legend Killer
By Scott Gilfoid: Joe Calzaghe, the Legend Killer, as many of his fans like to call him, has done well for himself during his 16-year career. With wins over Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins, Calzaghe has beaten two of the biggest names in boxing during the 90s. Granted, Calzaghe caught up them at the tail end of their career, both 40ish and clearly not the same fighter they were in the early portion of their career.
De La Hoya – Don’t Expect The PPV King To Retire
By Matt Stein: Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) would probably be the first to admit that he got destroyed in his last fight, an 8th round stoppage loss to Pound-for-pound boxing star Manny Pacquiao on December 6th, but that probably won’t have any bearing on whether Oscar, 35, will consider retirement. In fact, retirement probably isn’t even something that De La Hoya is considering. After all, his fight with Pacquiao generated 1.25 million buys, making $70 million.
Kirkland – The Future Is Looking Good For James In 2009
By Jim Dower: Unbeaten light middleweight contender James Kirkland (24-0, 21 KOs) is poised for a title challenge at some point in 2009, and an excellent bet at picking up one of the belts. Currently ranked #2 in the WBA, #3 in the IBF, #4 in the WBO, and #8 in the WBC, Kirkland has a number of chances to challenge against different title holders in the new year. Kirkland, 24, trained by former female boxing champion Ann Wolfe, has speed and power reminiscent of Mike Tyson, only in a smaller package.
Will Wladimir Klitschko Ever Be a Popular Heavyweight?
By William Mackay: Wladimir Klitschko (52-3, 46 KOs) sits a top of the heavyweight division, currently holding both the IBF and WBO heavyweight titles and with a reputation until recently as being the top heavyweight in all of boxing. Yet there’s one problem. Very few fans really care about him enough to want to watch him fight or even discuss him. It seems the problem for that rests with Wladimir, who when he turned professional in 1996 after having won a Gold medal in the 96 Olympics in the Super Heavyweight class, had almost unlimited potential to not only win heavyweight titles but also to build a huge fan base to go along with them.
Pavlik Can’t Continue To Take Beatings
By Dave Lahr: Having been a big fan of middleweight Kelly Pavlik (34-1, 30 KOs) for a couple of years, it’s caused me great concern to see him taking ever increasing beatings in many of his fights since 2005, each appearing to get worse as he increases his level of competition. Now some people would say that it’s worked for Pavlik thus far, that he’s only been beaten once in his career and is the current WBC/WBO middleweight champion of the World.
Pavlik Eyeing Williams-Wright Winner
By Eric Thomas: According to an interview on Boxing talk, Kelly Pavlik (34-1, 30 KOs) is interested in fighting the winner of the Paul Williams (36-1, 27 KOs) vs. Winky Wright (51-4-1, 25 KOs) bout which is for the interim WBO light middleweight title on March 14th. However, Pavlik, 26, remains focused on defending his WBC/WBO middleweight titles on February 21st against his number WBC #1 middleweight challenger Marco Antonio Rubio (43-4-1, 37 KOs) in Youngstown, Ohio.
Tyson – The Heavyweight Division Needs Someone Like Him
By Dan Ambrose: It’s been over three years since former IBF/WBA/WBC heavyweight champion Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) has last fought, but yet there’s been no heavyweight that has come close to matching Tyson’s huge appeal and domination since that time. In his prime, Tyson was unbeatable, stopping excellent fighters like Razor Ruddock, Michael Spinks, Larry Holmes, Andrew Golota, Frank Bruno and many more. When he was in shape and focused, in particular earlier in his career, Tyson may have been the best heavyweight that every lived.
Options For Taylor In 2009
By Jim Dower: After two consecutive losses to Kelly Pavlik, former WBC/WBO middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (28-2-1, 17 KOs) appears to be once again fighting well having moved up to the super middleweight division where he recently defeated Jeff Lacy by a 12-round unanimous decision in a WBC Super Middleweight Title Eliminator in November. At the new 168 pound weight class, Taylor looked good, not showing signs of endurance problems that have affected him in recent years in fights against Cory Spinks, Kelly Pavlik and Kassim Ouma.