Saturday, October 29, 2016

Schedule Update



We would like to let our readers know that we are between rounds. We would also like to remind readers that a feature discussing November’s two big pay-per-view events, the November 5th WBO World Welterweight championship fight between champion Jessie Vargas and future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao, and the November 19th World Light Heavyweight championship fight between undefeated unified world champion Sergey Kovalev and undefeated former Super-Middleweight world champion Andre Ward will be released on Friday, November 4th. Stay tuned. “And That’s The Boxing Truth.”


The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.



Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twttiter.com/Beau_Denison

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

FOREIGNER TO HEADLINE ALL-STAR LINEUP AT FIGHT FOR CHILDREN’S FIGHT NIGHT



Press Release: WASHINGTON, DC (October 25, 2016)  Fight For Children announced today that Multi-Platinum Recording Artist, Foreigner, will headline this year’s Fight Night on Thursday, November 10 at the Washington Hilton. Other musical talent includes America’s Got Talent Season 11 finalist Sal Valentinetti, Sugar Hill Gang, Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five, E3 and DJ Yoshi. Additional entertainment, including the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders, will also join the evening, keeping the energy level high.

“We’ve made a conscious decision to elevate the experience for our partners and guests,” said Keith Gordon, COO of Fight For Children. “The level and quality of entertainment each year should also reflect that commitment.”

This year’s event will also feature several new elements including the Fight Night Party Deck, sponsored by Jaegermesiter. The Party Deck provides access to all of the best parts of Fight Night, but at a fraction of the cost – including IBF/USBA sanctioned championship boxing, live entertainment throughout the evening, networking, food and drinks – in a lively, interactive atmosphere. Tickets for the Party Deck can be purchased atwww.fightforchildren.org/fight-night.

About Fight For Children
Fight For Children was founded more than 26 years ago and today works to improve the quality of early childhood education in Washington, DC. Fight For Children’s signature early childhood education program, Joe’s Champs, operates in 17 schools with 50 school leaders, 225 teachers and 4,500 students. More than 85% of children reached through Fight For Children programs come from low-income families within the District. Fight For Children works across sectors and communities to i quality early childhood education experiences so that all children have the foundation necessary to succeed in third grade and beyond. For further information, please visit www.fightforchildren.org

Material Courtesy of: Fight For Children. Used with permission.


The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.  

Friday, October 21, 2016

A Look At The Latest Comeback Of Bernard Hopkins



When one discusses the history of Boxing, there are many legendary figures of the sport. Fighters who were able to establish themselves as legends for various reasons. In regard to Boxing’s Middleweight division, one would be hard pressed when discussing its history to not mention the name of Bernard Hopkins.

Hopkins, the fighter who made a career out of doing things his way by refusing to play ball with numerous promoters and such that could have elevated him to superstar status in the sport at a much earlier time in his career. The fighter known as “The Executioner” for much of his career would instead systematically construct one of the greatest reigns as a World Middleweight champion in history. A reign atop the Middleweight division that lasted for over a decade from 1995-2005 and compiled twenty successful defenses, a Middleweight record, of what became the Undisputed World Middleweight championship.

For much of that reign, Hopkins was largely under the radar and did not receive the kind of exposure and recognition due a fighter that was in his position. It wasn’t until Hopkins began the process of unifying the Middleweight division in 2001 that he began to receive the exposure and overdue recognition that he deserved when at age thirty-six he successfully unified three world championships in a unification tournament that involved fellow Middleweight champions Keith Holmes and William Joppy. The clear intended centerpiece of the tournament however, was the heavily favored multi-division world champion Felix Trinidad, who was moving up in weight and sought to not only capture his third world title in as many weight classes, but also to cement his legacy by walking away from the tournament as the unified Middleweight world champion.

Trinidad was able to accomplish the first part of his goal by scoring a knockout win over WBA world champion William Joppy in May 2001. This set up the showdown in the finals of the tournament in September of that year against Hopkins, who successfully unified his IBF world championship with the WBC world championship by scoring a twelve round unanimous decision over Keith Holmes in April of that year.

The showdown between Hopkins and Trinidad was in many ways Bernard Hopkins’ finest hour. As an underdog, Hopkins not only scored the victory over Trinidad, but was able to dominate a fighter regarded as one of the most dangerous and devastating knockout artists in the sport. The brilliant tactician Hopkins capped off what was to that point the best performance of his career by scoring a stoppage victory over the previously unbeaten Trinidad in the twelfth and final round. After many years of fighting what some may call the establishment of the sport and defending his world championship with little fanfare, Hopkins finally had his long-sought after recognition.

As brilliant as Hopkins’ victory over Trinidad was, Hopkins ability to dominate heavily favored opposition would become his trademark as he would go on to score victories against all opposition including finishing the unification process in September 2004 by knocking out then WBO world champion Oscar De La Hoya in nine rounds. After losing the Undisputed Middleweight crown in 2005 by losing a disputed decision to Jermain Taylor and failing to regain the championship later that year in a rematch, Hopkins moved up in weight and once more as an underdog scored a dominant twelve round unanimous decision over multi-time Light-Heavyweight world champion Antonio Tarver in June 2006 to win the IBO Light-Heavyweight world championship before a brief retirement from the sport until his first comeback in July 2007 with a twelve round unanimous decision win over Ronald “Winky” Wright.

Although Hopkins would go on to lose fights to Joe Calzaghe and Chad Dawson, there was always some debate as to whether or not Hopkins lost those fights much as there was debate following  his two losses to Jermain Taylor among Boxing fans and experts alike. This observer had said on numerous occasions whenever I had the pleasure of discussing the sport and the subject of  Bernard Hopkins with readers and others that those fighters who were able to get a victory over Bernard Hopkins including Hopkins’ 1993 loss to Roy Jones in the first of their two encounters, were able to get the win, but did not necessarily win those fights impressively due in large part to Hopkins’ crafty Boxing style.

Even as Hopkins would go on to become the oldest fighter in the history of the sport to win a world championship in 2011, I could not say with certainty that I had ever watched a Bernard Hopkins fight that he ended up on the losing end of, that I personally felt that he not only lost the fight, but lost by a convincing margin. There was always some argument that could be made for Hopkins having won those fights. It was not until Hopkins last fight in November 2014, a Light-Heavyweight unification battle against the undefeated knockout artist Sergey Kovalev that I felt Hopkins bit off more than he could chew.

For twelve rounds, the WBO champion Kovalev dominated Boxing’s elder statesman Hopkins, who entered as the unified IBF/WBA world champion to win a convincing unanimous decision. The thing that was somewhat ironic about Kovalev’s victory over Hopkins was that the fight was fought at a tactical and measured pace, a pace that was perfectly suited for Hopkins’ style and despite that, Hopkins, who was forty-nine years old at the time of the bout could not find a way to combat and defeat a younger and stronger opponent as he had been able to do so many times before throughout his career.

Some readers may remember this observer’s coverage of that fight in saying in a post-fight column here on the website titled “Has Hopkins Reached The End Of The Road?” that although it would not have shocked me to see a potential fight between Hopkins and WBC world champion Adonis Stevenson that it was my opinion that Hopkins had nothing more to prove as a fighter with his legacy and status as a future Hall of Famer in the sport more than secure.

When a potential fight with Stevenson did not materialize and Hopkins remaining a fixture at fight cards not only as a promoter as part of Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, but also as a broadcaster for HBO Sports and no fights for Hopkins had been announced, I began to feel that perhaps Hopkins may have decided to call it a career. It was not however, a complete surprise to this observer earlier this week to hear that Hopkins, now fifty-one years old would be returning to the ring on December 17th against top Light-Heavyweight contender Joe Smith Jr. at The Forum in Inglewood, CA.

Although the idea of a boxer making a comeback over the age of fifty may appear to be odd, it is actually not unprecedented. Some may remember the legendary former Heavyweight world champion Larry Holmes, who at the age of fifty-two entered the ring and scored a lopsided ten round unanimous decision over Eric “Butterbean” Esch in July 2002. Even though the fight between Holmes and the fighter affectionately known as “Butterbean” turned out to be a lopsided decision in Holmes’ favor, Holmes did not enter the ring against a fighter that most considered a contender.

This will not be the case when Hopkins enters the ring to do battle against Joe Smith Jr., a veteran of twenty-three professional fights, who is ranked in the top five in both the WBC and WBA respective Light-Heavyweight ratings. Smith will also come into the fight off of a breakout performance in scoring a first round knockout over former world title challenger Andrzej Fonfara in June of this year.

Although some may question the wisdom of Hopkins for choosing to face a fighter who is ranked so close to top contender status as recognized by two world sanctioning organizations for his first fight back after a two-year absence, one must remember that this is a fighter in Hopkins that has made a career of defying the odds. On one hand it is an obvious risk for the future Hall of Famer to take on a fighter twenty-four years his junior, but on the other hand if Hopkins were to win this fight he could incredibly be in line to challenge for another world championship and attempt to break his own record for a second time of being the oldest fighter in Boxing history to win a world championship, which he set at age forty-six, surpassing George Foreman, who set it at age forty-five with a knockout win over then unified Heavyweight world champion Michael Moorer in November 1994, when Hopkins defeated WBC world champion Jean Pascal in their rematch in 2011 and again at age forty-eight when he won the Light-Heavyweight world championship for a third time by defeating undefeated IBF world champion Tavoris Cloud.

Even though it is certainly understandable how one could be concerned for Hopkins’ safety at an advanced age, as yours truly is, especially against a fighter who scored a brutal knockout in his last fight, the bout between Hopkins and Smith certainly sets up at minimum one of the most intriguing fights of the year. Although I look forward to providing more thoughts and analysis as the fight approaches, the storyline is an obvious one. Can the “Ageless” Bernard Hopkins defy the odds one more time?

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.


Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Update



We would like to let our readers know that new material will be released on Friday, October 21st. Stay tuned. “And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.


Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Monday, October 17, 2016

Thoughts On Bellew-Flores



When longtime Light-Heavyweight and Cruiserweight contender Tony Bellew challenged for the vacant WBC Cruiserweight world championship earlier this year and scored a thrilling and brutal third round knockout of top contender Ilunga Makabu, it seemed to signal what might be a new era for the Cruiserweight division, a division that has long struggled for mainstream exposure particularly here in the United States. Bellew, who had previously come up short against longtime WBC Light-Heavyweight world champion Adonis Stevenson in his only previous opportunity at a world championship had established himself as a fighter to watch with the “Game” effort he put forth in defeat against Stevenson.

Bellew’s victory over Makabu in winning a world championship in the Cruiserweight division clearly established him as one of the best Cruiserweights in the world. A fighter with a crowd pleasing style, who is almost always in an exciting fight. The world champion certainly has the credentials and name recognition both due to his accomplishments as a fighter as well as receiving mainstream exposure in appearing in the film Creed, a spin-off of the Rocky series as Ricky Conlan that could give Bellew the platform to not only elevate the Cruiserweight division to new heights, but also further establish himself as a star in the sport.

The first title defense for the new champion came on October 15th at the Echo Arena in Bellew’s hometown of Liverpool, England against longtime Cruiserweight contender BJ Flores. What interested me about this fight beyond how Bellew would perform in his first defense of his world championship was to see how he would deal with a crafty and skillful opponent in Flores.

Flores, a veteran of thirty-five professional fights prior to the encounter with Bellew had never been stopped in his career and had only lost two fights in his career by decision against former world champion Beibut Shumenov in July of last year and in his only previous world championship opportunity against then IBO Cruiserweight world champion Danny Green in November 2010. Although it was understandable how some considered Flores, who is also known for his work as a broadcaster in the sport including for NBC Sports as an underdog going into this fight, his fights against Green and Shumenov were competitive and there were varying opinions as to who won those fights.

What always interests this observer whenever a challenger faces a world champion in the champion’s hometown is whether or not the challenger can deal with the “Hometown Crowd” and whether that fighter can succeed in taking the crowd out of the fight by putting forth a performance that quiets support that is almost always universally in favor of the champion or “Hometown Fighter.” A task that has proven to be a difficult one for some fighters, but something that has also been proven to not impossible to accomplish.

It appeared for time that Flores may succeed in quelling what was an extremely vocal crowd of supporters of the champion early on in the fight as he was able to regularly land his right hand to the head of Bellew in the first round. The fight however, would change in the second round as Bellew was able to take advantage of an opening left by Flores following the champion landing a low blow that was not called a foul by Referee Ian John-Lewis when after being hit low, Flores stepped back and complained to Lewis that he had been hit low, but in the process left himself open for Bellew’s power punches that ultimately resulted in three knockdowns in the second round against the challenger.

Even though Flores to his credit was able to survive the round under circumstances where most fights would have been stopped after three knockdowns in the same round regardless of whether or not a three knockdown rule was in effect, Bellew did not allow the challenger time to recuperate as he dropped Flores for a fourth and final time in round three to retain his world championship. Although clearly the key moment of this fight centers on the missed call by Referee Ian John- Lewis of the low blow suffered by Flores in the second round, the challenger made the mistake of trying to alert the referee after the low blow landed and in the process neglected to protect himself and left himself open for the champion to take advantage.

It is clear that Flores did not recover from the low blow, but the champion did exactly what a fighter is supposed to do in that situation. If an opponent presents an opening by not protecting himself, why not take advantage of it? It may not be the most classy move in the eyes of some, but it is legal and a perfect example of why it says in the rule book and is instructed to fighters by the referee before every fight both in the dressing room and just prior to a bout beginning “Protect Yourself At All Times.”

Although it does not always happen when a fighter turns their attention to the referee that their opponent takes advantage of an opening, it has happened before. Some may remember the 2003 encounter between Jr. Middleweight contenders Alejandro Garcia and Travis Simms where in the fifth round Garcia lowered his hands after a brief clinch between the fighters in close with a clear expectation of Referee Samuel Viruet to step in and initiate a separation, but instead left himself open for a brutal left hook to the head from Simms that ended the fight. Most may more likely however, remember Floyd Mayweather’s knockout of Victor Ortiz in 2011 where after being deducted a point for head butting Mayweather, Ortiz left himself open and was hit with a combination by Mayweather when it appeared that Ortiz was waiting for Referee Joe Cortez to initiate the fight to resume. In both cases, Garcia and Ortiz cost themselves their respective fights by waiting on the referee. In both cases, it came down to the simple rule of “Protect Yourself At All Times.” Much as was the case in those fights, I believe Flores made a crucial error by turning his attention away from Bellew and looking for the referee to step in and call a foul. Even though in the case of Bellew-Flores, the end result did not come immediately following a fighter (Flores) taking his eyes off of his opponent, an argument can be made that much like Garcia and Ortiz, Flores cost himself the fight by making a split-second error in judgment that he was ultimately unable to recover from.

The situation regarding the low blow notwithstanding, it was an impressive performance by Bellew in his first championship defense and one that could lead to a more lucrative showdown. Shortly after Bellew stopped Flores, the champion immediately got out of the ring and got into an exchange of words with former two-division world champion David Haye, a friend of Flores who was in attendance. The exchange between the two outspoken world champions seems to create a logical encounter between the two at some point in the future.

For David Haye, a former world champion in both the Cruiserweight and Heavyweight divisions, who began a comeback after nearly a four-year hiatus earlier this year and was successful in two fights against overmatched opposition a fight with Tony Bellew could answer questions as to what the thirty-six year old Haye has left against a world champion who is at the height of his career. The only question beyond whether an encounter between the two will take place is whether it will take place in the Cruiserweight or Heavyweight division.


Although Bellew fought as a Heavyweight as an amateur and could move up in weight to fight Haye, this observer believes it may be more likely that a fight between the to takes place in the Cruiserweight division. After all, Bellew is a world champion in the division and could theoretically be in position to not only garner a higher purse for a fight against Haye, but is also a position where he may be able to make a run at unifying the Cruiserweight division. It will be interesting to see if David Haye would be willing to move back down in weight having not competed as a Cruiserweight in over eight years since winning a unification bout with a knockout win over then WBO Cruiserweight world champion Enzo Maccarinelli in March 2008 to unify it with his WBC/WBA crown. Haye has only lost one fight as a Heavyweight in losing the WBA Heavyweight world championship via unanimous decision in a unification bout against Wladimir Klitschko in 2011.

Despite the opposition for David Haye thus far in his comeback being overmatched, there may be some who feel that Haye could compete in either division or may feel that a move down in weight at this stage of his career may not be in his best interest even if a potential opportunity to regain a world championship could be available. In this observer’s eyes, it will ultimately be up to David Haye as to whether or not he wants to continue fighting as a Heavyweight or attempts to move back down to the Cruiserweight division. No matter where a potential fight between Bellew and Haye takes place, it is a fight that makes sense and one that Boxing fans would look forward to seeing.

If both fighters want to face each other it may boil down to how quickly the fight can be made and when it will take place. Anticipation for a showdown between the two appears to be brewing among both Boxing fans and experts alike. As we have seen in the past however, lucrative fights between stars of the sport does not always take place when such anticipation is at a high and may ultimately leave Boxing fans feeling disappointed when a fight they have waited for finally becomes a reality. We will have to wait and see if a bout between the two can be made.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison


Friday, October 14, 2016

Bellew-Flores Weigh-In Results



The official weigh-in for Saturday’s WBC World Cruiserweight championship fight between champion Tony Bellew and challenger BJ Flores took place earlier today in Liverpool, England. The official weights for the entire card are as follows.

Main Event: WBC Cruiserweight world championship – 12Rds.

Tony Bellew (Champion) 199 ¼ lbs.               vs.        BJ Flores (Challenger) 199 ¼ lbs.

WBC Silver Lightweight championship – 12Rds.

Luke Campbell  (Champion) 134 ¼ lbs.        vs.        Derry Mathews (Challenger) 134 ½ lbs.

British Bantamweight championship – 12Rds.

Ryan Burnett  (Champion) 117 ¼ lbs.                        vs.        Ryan Ferrag  (Challenger) 117 ¼ lbs.

Lightweight – 10 Rds.

Sean Dodd  134lbs.                vs.                    Francesco Patera 133 ¼ lbs.

Jr. Welterweight – 10Rds.

Tom Farrell 139 ½ lbs.                       vs.                    Farid Hakimi 139 ¼ lbs.

Cruiserweight – 8Rds.

Simon Vallily 199 ½ lbs.        vs.        Mairis Briedis 201 ½ lbs.

Featherweight – 4Rds.

 Paul Economides 122 ¼ lbs. vs.       Elvis Guillen 124 ¼ lbs.

Middleweight – 6Rds.

Scott Fitzgerald  159 ¼ lbs.   vs.        Adam Jones 160 ½ lbs.

Super-Middleweight – 8Rds.

Rocky Fielding 172 ¼ lbs.     vs.        Istvan Zeller 166lbs.

Lightweight – 4Rds.

Steve Brogan 137 ¼ lbs.        vs.        Chris Adaway 135 1/4lbs.

Cruiserweight – 4Rds.

Craig Glover  198 ½ lbs.        vs.        Rolandas Cesna 195lbs.

Jr. Welterweight – 4Rds.

Gerard Carroll 140 ½ lbs.       vs.        Irvin Magno 139 ½ lbs.

Bellew vs. Flores takes place tomorrow night (Saturday, October 15th) at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. The card can be seen in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports 3 at 6PM (Local UK Time). Check your listings internationally.

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison




Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Brief Update

We would like to let our readers know that new material is in the works and will be released on Friday, October 14th. Stay tuned. “And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.


Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Braehmer-Cleverly: Should There Be A Rematch?


The fight between former world Light-Heavyweight champions Juergen Braehmer and Nathan Cleverly was certainly highly anticipated. Not only did the encounter pit two of the best fighters in the Light-Heavyweight division against each other, but it also brought to fruition a battle that was years in the making.

Some may remember back in 2011 when Braehmer was the WBO world champion in the Light-Heavyweight division that he was scheduled to defend his championship against Cleverly, who was then the number one contender in the World Boxing Organization’s (WBO) Light-Heavyweight ratings. Braehmer pulled out of the scheduled clash citing a cut suffered in training three days before the fight was to take place. Cleverly, who was the number one contender and thus held interim championship status in the WBO’s Light-Heavyweight ratings was subsequently declared world champion.

In the five years since the fight fell apart, both fighters have enjoyed success. Braehmer would go on to win the European Light-Heavyweight championship in 2013 for the second time, after previously holding the title in 2009. Eventually Braehmer would find himself in position as holding interim/regular champion status in the World Boxing Association (WBA) Light-Heavyweight ratings as a mandatory challenger to undefeated unified world champion Sergey Kovalev a designation that Braehmer had held for nearly three years.

Cleverly meanwhile made five successful defenses of the WBO crown before being stopped by Sergey Kovalev in August 2013. Following the loss of his world championship, Cleverly had a mixture of both success and setbacks including a brief stint in the Cruiserweight division as well as losing a close split decision in his second fight against current WBC Cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew in November 2014 and losing a decision in October of last year to longtime Light-Heavyweight contender Andrzej Fonfara.

This set the stage for the showdown between Braehmer and Cleverly to finally become a reality on October 1st at the Jahnsportforum in Neubrandenburg, Germany. An argument could be made that Cleverly entered this fight as an underdog against Braehmer, who was riding a near eight year unbeaten streak and had won seventeen consecutive fights during that span. In fairness to Cleverly, with the exception of his stoppage loss at the hands of Sergey Kovalev, his losses to Tony Bellew and Andrzej Fonfara were decision losses that one might argue could have gone either way and on that basis this observer did not believe that this was a case of a former world champion, who may have been on the decline getting an opportunity to move himself back into position to challenge for a world championship.

The fight was fought at a high pace from the opening bell as Cleverly immediately attempted to apply pressure on Braehmer and made this a battle that was fought on the inside where it was theoretically to Cleverly’s advantage. Although Cleverly was able to get off to a good start in this fight and was the more active of the two, Braehmer appeared to be more accurate in slipping some of Cleverly’s offense and landing short, but effective counter punches.

After three rounds, this observer scored two rounds in favor of Braehmer due largely to how effectively he was able to execute his counter punches that seemed to land cleaner than the offense he put forth by Cleverly. It was clear early on however, that this was developing into what would be a close fight and the question that I had in my mind was how the high pace in which the battle was fought would affect both fighters and whether or not that would ultimately determine the outcome.

A challenge that can be present when it comes to close fights and in particular fights that are fought in close can be to determine which fighter is getting the better of the action. Cleverly was clearly the more active of the two fighters, but it was Braehmer who was getting the better of most of the exchanges. Although some might say that it is the fighter who lands the more effective punches that should win most rounds, that is not always the case and there are times where a fighter can win rounds based on overall activity. What was impressive in my eyes was not only Braehmer’s ability to land clean and effective counter punches, but also how solid he was defensively in a fight that was more or less fought in a phone booth where there was simply not much space to slip and evade punches.

As impressive as Braehmer was however, Cleverly was equally impressive in making Braehmer fight at the high pace he established early in the fight and being able to maintain that pace as the fight progressed. After five rounds, Braehmer was ahead three rounds to two on my unofficial scorecard. This was a bout that could have seen varying scorecards due in large part to the pace that the fight was fought and how both fighters were exchanging offense for nearly every second of every round.

A close and entertaining fight in the eyes of any impartial spectator would be halted shortly before the beginning of the seventh round as Braehmer retired from the fight giving Cleverly the victory by technical knockout. In all truth and honesty, the decision by Braehmer to stop the fight appeared to be very “Inconclusive” because even though he had taken his share of punishment throughout the fight, he was dishing out his share of punishment to Cleverly and he did not appear to be hurt or on the verge of being stopped in the fight. It was revealed after the fight that Braehmer had suffered a dislocated elbow. It is unclear as of this writing as to when the injury occurred and which elbow of Braehmer’s was injured.

It is logical however, that in injury like that could occur during the course of a long and grueling fight as this one was. Although Braehmer was very solid defensively throughout this fight, there were times over the course of the bout were he would lower his arms and tighten his defense of his body as Cleverly was able to land some effective punches to Braehmer’s body throughout the fight. It is a possibility that a punch from Cleverly that was blocked by Braehmer’s arms or those that may have landed on one of Braehmer’s elbows could cause an injury such as a dislocated elbow. It may also be possible that the injury occurred as Braehmer was throwing a punch.

The injury did nevertheless cause a somewhat “Inconclusive” ending to this fight and may leave some questioning whether or not there should be a rematch. Whether or not a rematch takes place in the future remains to be seen, but it would make sense that a second encounter between the two could happen both due to the nature in which this fight ended as well as a rematch clause that was in the contract for this fight.

As for what this could mean in the landscape of the Light-Heavyweight division, per his victory over Braehmer, Nathan Cleverly now becomes the number one contender in the WBA’s Light-Heavyweight ratings and takes over designation as having interim/regular champion status. This could theoretically lead to a possible rematch between Cleverly and undefeated unified WBO/IBF/WBA world champion Sergey Kovalev in the near future. Of course, it will depend on whether Kovalev can successfully defend his championship in his upcoming title defense against undefeated former Super-Middleweight world champion Andre Ward on November 19th in Las Vegas, NV.

Considering that there is a rematch clause for Juergen Braehmer as well as a history of fighters who hold interim/regular champion status in the WBA’s ratings throughout the entire sport having to wait a significant period of time while facing other opposition with that designation at stake before getting their opportunity to challenge the WBA world champion, this observer believes it is logical that a rematch between Cleverly and Braehmer could take place if Braehmer is healed from his injury and assuming that Braehmer wants the rematch. Although there was a clear winner determined in this fight per one fighter retiring on his stool, this observer believes that a rematch is warranted on the basis of how close the bout was between these two fighters. It is certainly understandable how Boxing fans and maybe even the fighters themselves could feel that there is unfinished business between Cleverly and Braehmer coming out of this fight. We will simply have to wait and see if there will be a second encounter between the two.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison