Examining The Potential Options For Saul Alvarez At 154lbs. And 160lbs.

The fight between former WBC Jr. Middleweight world champion Saul Alvarez and Jr. Middleweight contender James Kirkland had all the ingredients on paper of an action-packed fight. Although sometimes an actual fight may not always produce an all action battle that it might appear would be the case prior to the fight, this bout more than lived up to its anticipation when Alvarez and Kirkland met on May 9th at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.

This fight can best be described as simply a “Shootout.” From the opening bell the two fighters engaged in a toe to toe battle. Although Kirkland was initially the more aggressive of the two fighters, it was Alvarez who would drop Kirkland with a flush straight right hand in the first round. Kirkland was able to survive the round and continued to battle with Alvarez.

Although Kirkland showed his mettle and was very “Game” he did not have an answer to avoid Alvarez’ well-balanced attack to the body and head. Despite taking significant punishment, Kirkland continued to press forward and attempted to turn the fight in his favor. Alvarez however, would have other plans. The “Shootout at Minute Maid Park” would come to a sudden and brutal conclusion in round three.

Alvarez would drop Kirkland for the second time with a right uppercut. As was the case in the first round, Kirkland was able to get up from the second knockdown. Alvarez however, would close the show seconds later dropping Kirkland for a third and final time with a right hand to the chin sending Kirkland down on his back on the canvas. The bout was immediately stopped by Referee Jon Schorle at 2:19 of round three.

This fight simply lived up to every expectation and gave the over thirty thousand fans in attendance their money’s worth in what will likely be a fight of the year candidate. As this observer stated prior to this fight, this was 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 following Floyd Mayweather’s recent announcement that he is relinquishing the world titles he currently holds in both the Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight divisions.

This will open a gap in each division as Mayweather currently holds the WBC and WBA world titles in the Jr. Middleweight division, as well as the WBC, WBA, and WBO titles in the Welterweight division. What this might mean for Saul Alvarez, who is rated number one and number two respectively in the WBC and WBA Jr. Middleweight ratings is he might be in position to fight for either title in his next fight.

Although it is unclear as of this writing as to what the WBC or WBA plan to mandate to fill the vacancy of each title, one might assume that a potential rematch could be ordered by the WBA between Alvarez and Erislandy Lara, who currently holds interim/regular champion status in the WBA’s Jr. Middleweight ratings.

Lara however, is scheduled to face Jr. Middleweight contender Delvin Rodriguez on June 12th. Whether or not Lara and Rodriguez will be fighting for a vacated WBA Jr. Middleweight world championship remains to be seen. One could assume however, that the winner could be mandated to face Alvarez in their next fight.

There are also other possibilities for Saul Alvarez outside of the 154lb. Jr. Middleweight division. Following his victory over Kirkland, Alvarez expressed interest in possibly moving up in weight to the 160lb. Middleweight division to face either current WBC champion Miguel Cotto or undefeated unified WBA/IBO champion Gennady Golovkin.

A fight between Alvarez against either Cotto or Golovkin would likely be extremely lucrative for all involved and a significant pay-per-view draw. Both Golovkin and Cotto however, have business to attend to as Golovkin will make the fourteenth defense of his world title this weekend against top contender Willie Monroe Jr. Cotto meanwhile will make the first defense of his WBC world title against former two-time Middleweight world champion Daniel Geale on June 6th.

If Golovkin, Cotto, and Lara are all successful in their upcoming bouts it could open up some interesting possibilities for Alvarez over the next year as all three could be and perhaps should be future opponents. One thing however, is definitely clear. Saul Alvarez is a legitimate star in the sport of Boxing and no matter who he fights next it will likely be a hot ticket.

“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 

 

What’s Next For Amir Mansour Following Decision Win Over Dawejko?

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 14^th. 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.

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

Showdown In Beaumont Results

Photo Courtesy of: L.O.E.F Promotions

Press Release: May 10, 2015- By L.O.E.F Promotions- On May 8th, L.O.E.F Promotions put on an action packed boxing card Showdown in Beaumont at the Beaumont Civic Center. The card lived up to its name as three of the six featured bouts ended in exciting knockouts.

The opening bout featured Brownsville natives Greg Garza losing a contested bout to Juan Reyna in which bout fighters landing hard power punches exciting the crowd. Also in action was Lousiana native Joel Baglio as he dominated a very game Hector Garza of Harlingen, Texas.  

Also in action was Houston's Chris Edwards as he scored an exciting first round KO over Beaumont's Leroy Jackson. Houston's Reggie Harrison scored an surprising KO against Cody Williams in the first round. Andre August decisioned Patrick Simes in four rounds of back and forth action. 

In four rounds of back and forth action, Cincinatti via Houston Artremis Sartor decisioned Chad Broussard.

The biggest upset of the night came in the main event with San Antonio, Texas veteran slugger Santos Beineve scored a first round KO against local favorite Cody Richards.

Promoter Allen Jaco was thrilled with the outcome of Showdown in Beaumont. 

"This was an exciting night at the Civic Center. The fights were great and the crowd was awesome. Ware truly pleases to have brought boxing back to Beaumont."

Material Courtesy of: L.O.E.F Promotions Used with Permission.

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

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