On May 8th
the story of forty-two year old rising Heavyweight contender Amir Mansour
continued as he faced Joey Dawejko at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Although Mansour has earned a reputation as a “Knockout Artist”
having scored sixteen knockouts in twenty-one career victories prior to facing
Dawejko, Mansour showed in this fight that he is more than a fighter with
punching power.
In what was a
tactical fight Mansour overcame a cut over the right eye in the second round as
a result of an accidental clash of heads to outwork Dawejko over the course of
ten rounds to win a convincing unanimous decision. What impressed me about
Mansour’s performance was the measured way in which he fought Dawejko.
There were
several rounds in this fight where neither fighter was able to stand out from
the other. The difference in this observer’s eyes however, was Mansour’s
ability to stay busy throughout this fight, particularly during rounds that
could have been scored either way and this was what allowed him to win rounds.
Although Dawejko, who also suffered a cut over his left eye as a result of an
accidental clash of heads in round three, was able to have his moments
periodically in this fight, he was simply not able to be busy enough to win
rounds.
The win for
Mansour, his second victory since losing a hard fought decision to former
Cruiserweight world champion and current Heavyweight contender Steve Cunningham
in April of last year, earned him the Pennsylvania State Heavyweight title. An
interesting question coming out of this fight is what is next for Amir Mansour?
An important
thing to keep in mind after all is that Mansour is forty-two years old and one
could assume that Mansour would want to face a fighter that would present an
opportunity for him to get into the top ten of any of the sport’s world sanctioning
organizations as quickly as possible. Of course, the goal of any Heavyweight
contender is to ultimately secure an opportunity to face either of the two
division’s world champions Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder.
Although
Mansour is known for his punching power, he has also shown that he has Boxing ability
not only in his fight against Joey Dawejko, but also in his fight against
Maurice Harris in 2013. It is also important to remember that Mansour’s loss to
Cunningham last year was the only loss of his career.
What will be
interesting to this observer is whether or not Mansour might face someone who
is rated in the top ten in his next fight, or if he will face a fighter who one
might argue is at a similar stage in their career before facing a top ten
contender. Fighters such as Chazz Witherspoon and Travis Kauffman could each
provide an interesting challenge for Mansour.
Much like
Mansour, both Witherspoon and Kauffman have an ability to end a fight early.
Witherspoon has scored twenty-five knockouts in thirty-three career victories
registering a career knockout percentage of nearly 70%. Kauffman meanwhile, has
scored twenty knockouts in twenty-eight career victories, also registering a
career knockout percentage of nearly 70%.
Witherspoon has
won his last three fights, all by knockout and in his last fight scored a fifth
round stoppage of Galen Brown on April 18th. Kauffman has been undefeated since
suffering the only loss of his career, a knockout at the hands of Tony Grano in
2009. Kauffman has won his last ten fights, scoring knockouts in five of those
bouts. In his last fight, Kauffman scored a ten round unanimous decision over
Vincent Thompson in January of last year.
If a fight with
either Witherspoon or Kauffman against Mansour can be made it may provide the
winner with an opportunity to face someone in the top ten. If Mansour is
looking to face someone in the top ten in his next fight however, I believe an
option that could be considered might be a rematch with Steve Cunningham.
The fight
between Mansour and Cunningham was after all one of the best Heavyweight fights
of 2014. It was a grueling fight that could have gone either way and I believe
a rematch between might be the best option for both at this stage in their
respective careers. Cunningham, who is currently rated number six by the
International Boxing Federation (IBF) and number fourteen by the World Boxing
Organization (WBO) lost a close twelve round unanimous decision to current IBF
number one contender Vyacheslav Glazkov on March 14th. Many
observers, including this one felt that Cunningham deserved the decision.
A rematch
with Cunningham for Mansour would offer an opportunity to potentially catapult
himself into the top ten where he could find himself in position to challenge
for a world title. A rematch with Mansour for Cunningham, meanwhile might offer
him an opportunity should he be successful to maintain his ranking and
potentially secure rematch with Glazkov down the line or to be able to
challenge for a world title himself.
Whomever Amir
Mansour will fight next is anyone’s guess, but I believe the most important
thing for him is to stay active. If Mansour can stay active and continues to
win, a storyline of a fighter who established himself as a rising contender
over the age of forty fighting for a World Heavyweight championship may become
a reality.
“And That’s
The Boxing Truth.”
The Boxing
Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.
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