By Liam Fitzgerald: From reading plenty of articles on this website, it’s clear that some fans have preconceptions about a fighter’s ability solely based on where they come from. Personally, I always tend to favour a fighter from my own country if he’s fighting but I’m not biased. For example, I thought Andre Dirrell was a clear victor against Carl Froch even though I was willing the Brit to win.
After a number of soft decisions when fighting at home, some writers have complained about European fighters and questioned if in reality they are world class. Similarly, some people think some Americans have been over-hyped without actually achieving anything so I thought an interesting way of measuring who is better could be a Ryder Cup style competition between Europe and America. I know that this wouldn’t actually prove too much (for example Pacquiao couldn’t take part) but it could definitely end a few arguments between the two continents and their fans.
The way it could work is the best fighter from either Europe or USA in each different to fight each other, with the scoring system similar to the Super Six tournament. Hypothetically, it could turn out to be a great contest and I am going to predict what the outcome would be should it happen.
HEAVYWEIGHT: Wladimir Klitschko vs. Eddie Chambers.
Both Wladimir and Vitali could win this fight in my opinion but I’ve just plumped for Wladimir as he holds the more belts. Height would be key for me in this fight as Wladimir could negate the speed of Chambers with his strong jab as his reach would be too much. I think he’d eventually wear him down to a late stoppage, a recurring theme in his recent fights.
My Prediction= Vladimir Kiltschko wins by TKO in round 12.
SCORE= Europe 3-0 USA
CRUISERWEIGHT: Tomasz Adamek vs. Steve Cunningham
Ok, Adamek may have recently moved up to Heavyweight but he is still in IBF Cruiserweight champions so can qualify at this weight. This fight has already happened and already it was a close split decision last time, I have seen more improvements in the Pole recently. Therefore, I feel there would be a more convincing victory this time and again a late stoppage for the European.
My Prediction= Tomasz Adamek wins by KO in round 10.
Score= Europe 6-0 USA
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT= Bernard Hopkins vs. Gabriel Campillo
This is one of the easier fights to predict. Hopkins is better than Dawson for me even at 44 years old and he would box the head off the over matched Spaniard. The ex- unified middleweight champion no longer seems to have the power to KO opponents yet his tactical awareness should see him win a lopsided decision.
My Prediction= Bernard Hopkins wins by unanimous decision.
Score= Europe 6-2 USA
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT= Arthur Abraham vs. Andre Ward
This was the most difficult decision in which to choose the best man for each team. However, both men have started the Super Six impressively and it has the potential to be a great bout if it happens in the future. Both men have impressive power and I would be surprised if there wasn’t a knockout. And I have a sneaky feeling the German could get it.
My Prediction= Arthur Abraham wins by KO in round 11.
Score= Europe 9-2 USA
MIDDLEWEIGHT= Felix Sturm vs. Kelly Pavlik
These two are definitely the best two middleweights out there but both have flaws. Pavlik was shown to be almost robotic against Hopkins whilst Sturm has had to depend on some dodgy decisions in Germany in order to win. However, when on the top of their game, they can be great boxers. This is too close to call for me so I’ll go for a draw.
My Prediction= A draw over 12 rounds.
Score= Europe 10-3 USA
LIGHT MIDDLEWEIGHT= Ryan Rhodes vs. Paul Williams
This fight would be a demolition if it were to occur in favour of the classy American. A lack of talent in the Light Middleweight decision means Rhodes, the European champion, would have to face Williams but his lack of defence would be seriously exposed. An early KO win for Williams.
My Prediction= Paul Williams wins by KO in round 5
Score= Europe 10-6 USA
WELTERWEIGHT= Vyacheslav Senchenko vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr
Senchenko is a decent fighter and obviously a world champion but he is realistically still nowhere near the level of Mayweather. The American’s pot shotting tactics would pick him off fairly easily but it could be get this tough Eastern European out of there by fighting in that way. I think this would be a handsome points win for Mayweather.
My Prediction= Floyd Mayweather wins by unanimous decision.
Score= Europe 10-8 USA
LIGHT WELTERWEGHT= Ricky Hatton vs. Timothy Bradley
This may be controversial one for many but I really think this fight could go either way. I would love for it to happen soon. Before the Nate Campbell fight, I felt fairly strongly that Bradley would beat Hatton but I noticed some faults in that short fight which if he were to repeat against Hatton would be disastrous. I reckon there would be a stoppage in this one as both are vulnerable and have an overriding feeling that it will be a Hatton body shot that does it.
My Prediction= Ricky Hatton wins by TKO in round 8
Score= Europe 13-8 USA
LIGHTWEIGHT= John Murray vs. Victor Ortiz
This fight would be intriguing and a little unpredictable. Ortiz is coming off a bad defeat to Marcos Maidana but Murray is still untested at this level. I think Murray’s style could get found out in this fight and I can see an Ortiz victory by a KO.
My Prediction= Victor Ortiz wins by TKO in round 7
Score= Europe 13-11 USA
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT= Kevin Mitchell vs. Robert Guerrero
Guerrero is a solid fighter and his straight left hands tend to be very accurate and with Mitchell’s style not what you could call defensive, I think the American will win this one. Mitchell is a tough but limited so I’d expect him to just be edged out on points in this encounter.
My Prediction= Robert Guerrero wins by split decision
Score= Europe 13-13 USA
FEATHERWEIGHT= Martin Lindsay vs. Steven Luevano
Lindsay is still very experienced but is still the best in Europe at this weight.
He’s had two great wins over Paul Appleby and Derry Mathews but he is yet to prove that he could beat someone of the calibre of Luevano. I see a late stoppage for the American in this fight.
My Prediction= Steven Luevano wins by TKO in round 11
Score= Europe 13-16 USA
After this weight, there is only one major player in each division for either side, Vic Darchinyan at Super Flyweight for Europe and Brian Viloria for America at Light Flyweight. Let us say they both won by KO, we would be left with a winning score of 19-13 for USA. I Know this concept isn’t perfect as 1 fighter at each weight would deny fighter like Chad Dawson, David Haye, Vitali Klitschko and Shane Mosely from participating but I would really enjoy it and think it could be very exciting. Feel free to agree/disagree with my predictions because I know some are quite controversial.
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