Alvarez-Kirkland Preview

The biggest story in the sport of Boxing in recent times has been the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight. Now that Mayweather-Pacquiao has taken place, the story has become what will happen from the fallout of the fight dubbed “The Fight Of The Century.” One of the biggest developments that was announced shortly after Mayweather defeated Pacquiao on May 2nd was Floyd Mayweather’s announcement that he intends to relinquish all of the world titles that he presently holds.

Mayweather, who currently holds unified world championships in both the Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight divisions relinquishing those championships, will obviously open up opportunities for contenders in both weight classes to look to position themselves for a world title shots. In regard to the Jr. Middleweight division, Mayweather’s WBC and WBA world titles will soon become vacant. A fight that could have ramifications on a potential fight to fill the vacancy of either of those world titles will take place on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas as former WBC Jr. Middleweight world champion Saul Alvarez takes on Jr. Middleweight contender James Kirkland.

Alvarez, who is currently rated number one by WBC and number two by the WBA would appear to be in prime position to fight for either world title. Alvarez made six successful defenses of his WBC world title before losing it to Floyd Mayweather in a unification bout in September 2013. The loss, the first of Alvarez’ career did not have too much of an impact on a fighter who has in recent years become one of the sport’s hottest rising stars.

Since dropping a decision to Mayweather, Alvarez has fought twice winning both bouts. In his last bout in July of last year Alvarez earned a hard fought twelve round split decision over top contender Erislandy Lara. Although Alvarez was successful in that fight, it was a close tactical battle that could have gone either way.

Alvarez now looks to continue to position himself for a potential title shot as he takes on the dangerous James Kirkland. Kirkland, a winner of thirty-two of thirty-three professional fights has scored twenty-eight knockouts in his career registering a career knockout percentage of nearly 85%. Kirkland has the ability to hurt an opponent with either hand and has also shown a willingness to stand and go toe to toe with his opposition. Kirkland comes into this fight on a five fight winning streak, scoring knockouts in four of those five bouts.

What interests this observer about this fight is whether or not Kirkland will be able to turn this fight into a brawl. Alvarez is a boxer/puncher who can be very compact with his offense and will be interesting to me to see if Alvarez attempts to box Kirkland from the outset. Although Kirkland has the higher knockout percentage of the two fighters, it should not be overlooked that Alvarez has in his own right scored thirty-one knockouts in his forty-four career victories and is more than capable of getting an opponent out of there should the opportunity present itself.

If one might be looking for a way to compare the fighters, they do have a common opponent in longtime Jr. Middleweight contender Alfredo Angulo. In November 2011, Kirkland and Angulo engaged in an exciting give and take battle where both fighters suffered knockdowns. Kirkland was able to stop Angulo in the sixth round in what was one of the best fights of 2011. In March of last year, Alvarez scored a tenth round stoppage of Angulo.

Although both fighters were able to score knockout wins over Angulo, a difference between the two fights was that Angulo was able to have more success against Kirkland, while he had trouble dealing with the combination punching and solid defense of Alvarez. One might wonder if Alvarez might look to adapt a similar strategy in this fight against Kirkland as he was able to do against Angulo. In his fight with Angulo, Alvarez was able to use his hand speed to consistently batter Angulo with combinations to the body and head. Alvarez’ well-balanced attack gradually broke the very “Game” Angulo down and he was able to stop him late in the fight.

In thinking of how this fight might go, one could be justified to expect an action fight for however long it lasts. Stylistically, this fight does have action written all over it and it may be a simple question of who is able to land their power punches first.

It is an important fight for both fighters, which could have an impact on who may get an opportunity to fight for a vacated world title down the line. A fight that much like Mayweather-Pacquiao has much anticipation leading up to it and one that could be a fight of the year candidate. Whether Alvarez-Kirkland lives up to the anticipation remains to be seen. If the actual fight turns out to resemble the action fight that it figures to be on paper however, it could be an entertaining evening.

“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 

 

A Look at Mansour-Dawejko

In the sport of Boxing one thing that will certainly draw interest and create a buzz around a prospect is a fighter who builds a reputation as a “Knockout Artist.” A fighter who has earned a reputation as a “Knockout Artist” is Heavyweight prospect Amir Mansour.

Mansour has compiled sixteen knockouts in twenty-two professional fights earning twenty-one victories. Some fans may now that Mansour, who began his professional career in 1997 had his career derailed by legal troubles as he served nine years in prison for drug possession. Upon returning to the ring in 2010 however, Mansour established himself as a fighter to watch in the Heavyweight division. What should also not be overlooked is that Mansour has established himself as a rising prospect as a fighter over the age of forty.

Although Mansour has scored victories over fighters such as Dominick Guinn, Jason Gavern, and Maurice Harris and won the United States Boxing Association (USBA) Heavyweight championship in his career, he has also faced adversity. In April of last year Mansour suffered the first loss of his career in losing a hard fought ten round decision to former IBF world Cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham.

As this observer stated following Mansour’s loss to Cunningham, it is highly unusual when discussing a fighter who was at the time forty-one years old that you can say that fighter is a rising contender. Despite the loss to Cunningham, Mansour did show his mettle in defeat in what was a grueling give and take Heavyweight fight. 

A question that will be asked of most fighters at some point in their careers will be how they deal with defeat. Mansour returned to the ring in November of last year scoring a seventh round knockout over Fred Kassi. Off of what was a devastating knockout of Kassi, Mansour now looks to continue building momentum as he faces Philadelphia based prospect Joey Dawejko on Friday night at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The fight, which will be for the Pennsylvania State Heavyweight title will headline this week’s ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights. Dawejko, a veteran of nineteen professional fights will enter his bout with Mansour with a record of 14-3-2, with 7 Knockouts. Even though Dawejko is slightly less experienced as a professional compared to Mansour, he did have a decorated amateur career registering a record of 56-12.

Dawejko enters this fight having won six straight fights, winning four of those bouts by knockout. It will be interesting to see how Dawejko reacts to getting hit by a fighter with the type of punching power that Mansour possesses. Although Dawejko is stepping up in class in this fight, he has only been stopped once in his career when he was stopped in four rounds by current North American Boxing Organization (NABO) champion Charles Martin in 2013.

Even though Dawejko has shown in recent fights that he too is capable of ending a fight inside the distance, it will be interesting to this observer to see if Dawejko attempts to extend the fight into the middle and late rounds. Fighters such as Maurice Harris and Steve Cunningham were able to have success against Mansour as those bouts were into the mid-and late rounds, and in the case of Cunningham he was able to score a victory. Mansour however, is a fighter with a career knockout percentage of nearly 73% and will be dangerous for however long the fight lasts. If Dawejko can find a way to extend the fight and neutralize Mansour’s power, he may be able to pull off what some would consider an upset.

It will be equally as interesting if the fight does go into the middle and late rounds to see if Mansour fades as the fight progresses. In his battle against Steve Cunningham, Mansour was able to score two knockdowns of Cunningham in the fifth round, but could not finish him. As the fight progressed Cunningham was able to narrow the gap and score a knockdown of an exhausted Mansour in the final round and went on to win a close, but unanimous decision.

As I stated in my coverage of that fight, one of the primary things that I believed worked against Mansour against Cunningham was he seemingly put everything he had into every punch he threw, often lunging in with his punches and neglecting to use his jab to set up his offense. If this fight does indeed go into the mid-and late rounds, it will be interesting to see if Mansour can pace himself and not burn himself out as a fight progresses.

What may be more importantly at stake in this fight in addition to the Pennsylvania State Heavyweight title for the winner might be an opportunity to move up the rankings and potentially find himself in position to face top contender in hopes of getting a world title shot against either of the two world champions in the division currently Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder.

For the forty two year-old Mansour one might argue that time is not on his side and that a loss at this stage of his career might put his status as a rising contender in serious jeopardy. For a fighter eighteen years Mansour’s junior however, this fight represents an opportunity to establish himself as a rising contender.

We will see what happens on Friday night.

“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 

 

Analyzing Mayweather-Pacquiao

There was much anticipation leading up to a fight that was titled the “Fight of the Century” Mayweather vs. Pacquiao that took place on May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.  An encounter that took nearly six years to come to fruition as during that time the two fighters became the two best pound for pound fighters in the world.  This was the defining fight for both fighters respective careers in the eyes of many.  All the anticipation that led up to Mayweather-Pacquiao however, may have ultimately resulted in a bit of a letdown for some. 

In many ways the fight was a quintessential Floyd Mayweather Boxing lesson. Mayweather’s lateral movement, ability to dictate how the fight was fought, defense, and precision timing with his offense was the story of this fight. As has been the case in previous Mayweather bouts, a focal point of his offense in this fight was his ability to throw jabs and land straight right hands. Mayweather’s ability to keep the fight in the middle the ring was also a key factor.

Although Manny Pacquiao would have moments periodically throughout this fight, particularly when he was able to land counter punches and get Mayweather against the ropes. What was absent from his attack was his ability to use angles to set up his offense and to throw punches in a swarming style that makes it difficult for opponents to counteract. As I stated prior to this fight it was crucial in my eyes that Pacquiao bring the fight to Mayweather at a fast pace and maintain that pace for the entire fight.

This fight was instead fought at a pace that allowed Mayweather to dictate how it was fought and to more or less pick his shots and win rounds as a result. Pacquiao’s inability to use angles to set up his offense, choosing instead to come straight in at Mayweather played right into Mayweather’s hands.

Even though Pacquiao was able to have his best rounds in rounds two, four, and six when he was able to land punches a bit more frequently, he was simply unable to throw and land at a volume that may have allowed him to have more success in this fight. As I stated following the fight on social media when fights are fought in a manner as this fight was, it will always favor a fighter with a style like Mayweather’s who likes to pick his shots. Simply put, Pacquiao needed to be more active and needed to make Floyd Mayweather uncomfortable in order to have success in this fight.

At the end of the day the fight ended up being what Boxing fans have become accustomed to seeing from Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather dictating the pace, picking his shots, and showcasing his superb defense to earn a lopsided twelve round unanimous decision. Official scores were 118-110, and 116-112 on two scorecards all in favor of Mayweather. Unofficially, I scored this fight nine rounds to three in favor of Mayweather or 117-111 in points.

Although some may have anticipated more of an action fight given what was at stake for both fighters as well as the expensive price tags that consumers were asked to pay both for those who were attending the fight in person at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as well as those who paid $100 for the pay-per-view telecast, it was not surprising to this observer to see a tactical fight. Even though this fight ultimately was lopsided in Mayweather’s favor, it was still a competitive fight between two highly skilled boxers who are both future Hall of Famers.

As for what will the fallout of this fight will be from a financial standpoint, it will likely set new pay-per-view and live gate attendance records as was expected when this fight was announced. To what degree the financial success of this fight will be is unknown as of this writing, but I believe that it will ultimately prove to be the most successful Boxing card in the sport’s history.

As for the fighters themselves, it will be interesting to see where both fighters go coming out of this fight. In regard to Pacquiao, who only landed 81 of 429 total punches in the twelve round bout, revealed after the fight that he suffered an injury prior to the fight to his right shoulder and essentially fought the fight with one hand. Although some may criticize Pacquiao for going ahead with the fight with an injured shoulder when perhaps it may have been better for him to postpone the fight, this observer believes it was more Mayweather’s ability to dictate how the fight was fought more so than Pacquiao’s injury. Pacquiao did however, state that he hesitated to be more aggressive due to only having one hand.

Despite the injury, Pacquiao was still competitive and did manage to have his moments. As for what is next for Pacquiao, who lost the WBO world Welterweight championship to the unified WBC/WBA champion Mayweather in this fight, we will have to wait and see what the impact of the injury to his right shoulder will have in terms of when he will fight again. It will be interesting however, when Pacquiao does return to the ring to see if he will continue fighting in the 147lb. Welterweight division or if he will choose to move down in weight to the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division.

Even though Pacquiao came out of this fight on the losing end, he is still one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world and is still one of the sport’s biggest marquee draws. A loss in this fight will not have too much of an impact on Pacquiao’s marquee value. It is simply a question of what Pacquiao will do next. It is logical to assume that we will not get an answer to that question until Pacquiao’s injured shoulder has fully healed.

As there is a question of what Manny Pacquiao will do next, the same question also surrounds Floyd Mayweather. For his part, Mayweather, who landed 148 of 435 total punches against Pacquiao stated following the fight that he intends to relinquish all the world championships that he currently holds. The WBC/WBA Jr. Middleweight world championships as well as the WBC/WBA titles he holds in the Welterweight division including the WBO title he just won from Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather has stated that he will fight in September in what will be the last of a lucrative six-fight deal with Showtime, will be his final fight before retirement. It is anyone’s guess who Mayweather’s opponent might be come September, but an interesting storyline that will accompany that fight when it takes place will be Mayweather’s attempt to match Rocky Marciano’s undefeated mark of 49-0. 

Whether or not Mayweather can equal Marciano’s feat is a question that will be answered in time. If the planned fight in September will indeed be Mayweather’s last and if he should emerge from that fight still unbeaten it will cement his legacy and put him in an exclusive group of fighters to have retired undefeated that include such fighters as Marciano, Ricardo Lopez, and Joe Calzaghe to name a few. We will see in time if Mayweather can add his name to the list of retired undefeated world champions.

As for what the future holds in terms of pay-per-view Boxing events, the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was only the second time that rival networks HBO and Showtime joined forces to co-produce a pay-per-view card. Although this card, much like the networks first collaboration in 2002 with the Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson Heavyweight championship fight will likely prove to be a financial success in terms of pay-per-view buys, it is unclear whether the networks will continue to collaborate from time to time.

In the eyes of this observer it will all boil down to whether the right time, circumstances, and fighters are present for HBO and Showtime to continue to co-produce cards. If circumstances allow however, the two networks working together will ultimately benefit the sport overall.

“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