What’s Next For Jacobs, Peterson, And Garcia?

On August 9th the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York played host to a Boxing card, which was headlined by a tripleheader that may produce some interesting storylines in the future.  Although some might feel the card headlined by Jr. Welterweight world champions Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson competing in separate bouts, and top Middleweight contender Daniel Jacobs, fighting for interim/regular champion status in the WBA’s Middleweight ratings did not provide much in the way of competition for the aforementioned headliners, it did serve as a showcase of what might lead to some interesting fights for all three.

The Middleweight fight on this card pitted WBA number four rated contender Daniel Jacobs facing the number two contender Jarrod Fletcher in a bout to determine interim/regular champion status in the WBA ratings. Jacobs was very impressive in this fight as he controlled the tempo of the fight from the outset and scored knockdowns in rounds one and five to earn a stoppage in the fifth round.

Jacobs now finds himself as one of three fighters who hold some form of champion status as recognized by the World Boxing Association (WBA) in the Middleweight division. The current unified WBA/IBO world champion is Gennady Golovkin, while Jacobs and WBA number one contender Dmitry Chudinov each hold interim/regular status. Ironically both Jacobs and Chudinov fought for their status on the same day as Chudinov scored a third round knockout of the WBA number twelve rated contender Medhi Bouadla in Crimea, Russia.

Readers may recall following Gennady Golovkin’s recent title defense over Daniel Geale when I briefly discussed these two fights for interim/regular status as to whether or not the two fights would lead to the two winners facing off to determine a mandatory challenger for Golovkin. It still remains to be seen. Jacobs however, did state after his win over Fletcher that he would like to face current WBO champion Peter Quillin in what would be a very interesting fight and an encounter that would generate significant interest in New York where both fighters are based.

The political landscape of the sport and designations of interim/regular champion status by the WBA notwithstanding, Daniel Jacobs is very much a player in a talent stacked Middleweight division and poses an interesting challenge for anyone in the division whether they be a world champion or a top contender. With the deep depth that the Middleweight division has to offer, there are certainly several options on the table for Jacobs going forward if a fight with Gennady Golovkin or Dmitry Chudinov is not in his immediate future.

The other potential fight that might be made in the future coming out of last weekend’s card could be a unification bout between Jr. Welterweight world champions Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson. Peterson successfully defended his IBF world title on this card with a tenth round stoppage of number thirteen rated IBF contender Edgar Santana. Peterson’s solid attack to the body and head and higher offensive output were simply too much for the challenger who could not find a way to nullify Peterson’s consistent pressure and offense. Despite the “Game” effort of Santana, the fight was justly stopped by Ringside physician Dr. Bobby Jordan shortly before the conclusion of round ten.

With the win Peterson has now won five out of his last six fights with a defeat coming at the hands of top contender Lucas Matthysse, who stopped Peterson in three rounds in a non-title bout last year. Peterson however, has rebounded from that defeat with two successful title defenses and has now successfully defended his title three times overall. 

Peterson’s counterpart the unified WBC/WBA Jr. Welterweight world champion Danny Garcia closed the show on this card in devastating fashion scoring three knockdowns of contender Rod Salka in round two to score the knockout in a non-title bout. Much as is the case with Daniel Jacobs, there are several options that could be on the table for both Peterson and Garcia coming out of this card.

The 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division much like the 160lb. Middleweight division is a weight class that has plenty of depth with several names including three-division world champion Adrien Broner, Hank Lundy, Lucas Matthysse, Humberto Soto, Mauricio Herrera, and Ruslan Provodnikov just to name a few. In the opinion of this observer however, a fight to further unify the Jr. Welterweight division between Garcia and Peterson makes sense, with the recently newly crowned WBO champion Chris Algieri moving up in weight to challenge Manny Pacquiao for the WBO Welterweight world championship in November.

Although Jacobs, Peterson, and Garcia were dominant in their respective bouts last weekend and, despite the opinion of some that perhaps the fights were mismatches, fight cards that serve as a showcase for world champions and rising stars can set up potential lucrative fights down the road, assuming of course that the headliners are successful in winning their bouts. There is after all a reason why fights take place. Even though there was nothing that emerged out of this card that would prevent any of the three from potentially securing big money fights down the road, even when fights are meant to be a “Showcase” or a “Tune-Up” there is always the potential for an upset. 

As I have often said over the years “Anything can happen at any given time in the sport of Boxing and that is what makes our sport great.” 

“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 

 

Fury-Chisora Rematch Rescheduled

The highly anticipated rematch between top Heavyweight contenders Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora has been officially rescheduled for November 22 and will take place at the ExCel Exhibition Centre in London, England.  The fight, which was originally scheduled to take place on July 26th, was postponed after Chisora fractured his left hand in his last sparring session before the fight was to take place.

Both Fury and Chisora are coming off victories on the same card in February of this year. Fury’s fourth round knockout of Joey Abell and Chisora’s convincing twelve round unanimous decision over Kevin Johnson set the stage for the rematch of their fight in July 2011. In that fight Fury scored a twelve round unanimous decision over Chisora for the British and Commonwealth Heavyweight titles.

The stakes of the rematch are higher than the first encounter between Fury and Chisora. This fight will not only have both the British and European Heavyweight titles on the line, but will also determine a mandatory challenger in the World Boxing Organization’s (WBO) ratings for current unified IBF/WBO/WBA/IBO Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

At the conclusion of this fight the landscape of the Heavyweight division could change as the winner could be next in line for Wladimir Klitschko if Klitschko is successful against his next challenger Kubrat Pulev. The Klitschko-Pulev fight will take place September 6th in Germany.

It would appear that the winner of that fight will face the winner of the Fury-Chisora rematch perhaps in 2015. Now with the rematch between Fury and Chisora is officially rescheduled as well as former WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev earning interim/regular status in the WBA ratings by defeating Fres Oquendo last month, if Klitschko is successful against Pulev It appears that he will already have two mandatory defenses lined up for 2015.

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 

 

Hopkins, Kovalev, Stevenson: The Full Unification Of The Light-Heavyweight Division?

Over the last year a storyline that has continued to interest Boxing fans and experts alike has been the changing landscape of the Light-Heavyweight division. The division has seen three fighters emerge as it’s dominant figures. Future Hall of Famer and current IBF/WBA champion Bernard Hopkins and rising stars in WBO champion Sergey Kovalev and WBC champion Adonis Stevenson.

A scenario that appeared would see two world champions face-off with the winner to face the third world champion of the division to determine an undisputed Light-Heavyweight world champion appeared as though it may not come to fruition due to the politics of the sport involving rival networks. This however, changed prior to Sergey Kovalev’s third title defense last Saturday against previously undefeated former IBO champion Blake Caparello in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

It was announced the day before the fight that Kovalev and Bernard Hopkins had signed a contract to meet in a unification bout in November. The agreement was however, contingent on Kovalev being successful in his title defense against Caparello. There would not be anything that would derail the unification fight between Hopkins and Kovalev when Kovalev met Caparello.

Despite being knocked down by a Caparello straight left hand that connected as Kovalev was off- balance in round one, the champion quickly ended the fight in the second round. Kovalev dropped Caparello with a right hand to the body and following up with two more knockdowns forcing the fight to be stopped.

Under circumstances where some would probably assume a fighter would be under considerable pressure, Kovalev performed like a champion and simply took care of business. As most Boxing fans are aware of the knockout streak of current unified WBA/IBO Middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin who has scored seventeen consecutive knockouts, Kovalev in his own right has compiled an impressive knockout streak of his own. Kovalev’s knockout of Caparello was his ninth consecutive knockout.

Another commonality between Golovkin and Kovalev is that they have yet to be matched against fighters that most would consider elite level. As I stated following Gennady Golovkin’s knockout of Daniel Geale last month that I believe it is time for Golovkin to face fighters who are considered top stars, the same could have been said for Sergey Kovalev.

Kovalev however, will get his opportunity when he faces Bernard Hopkins in November. When it comes to the elite fighters of the sport, Hopkins is as elite as they come. Some might recall that it was not too long ago when Kovalev was the mandatory challenger for Hopkins prior to Hopkins unifying his IBF title against WBA champion Beibut Shumenov earlier this year. Kovalev however, opted to take on WBO champion Nathan Cleverly in August of last year in a move that was considered a gamble by some.

After knocking Cleverly out in four rounds, and three knockout victories in title defenses, one might argue that the fight between Hopkins and Kovalev is now bigger not only due to the fact that it will be a unification bout, but also due to Kovalev’s star being on the rise. What the fight between Hopkins and Kovalev will also do in the short-term is that it will push WBC champion Adonis Stevenson to the side while most of the attention will likely be focused on the upcoming showdown between the two. For his part, Stevenson is scheduled to defend his world title on September 27th in Montreal against an opponent yet to be determined.

The Hopkins-Kovalev fight will also present an intriguing storyline that will attract the attention of both the hardcore Boxing enthusiast as well as the casual fan. Can the future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins at nearly fifty years old duplicate a feat that he accomplished when he completely unified the Middleweight division with his knockout win over Oscar De La Hoya in 2004. Will Hopkins completely unify a second weight class at this stage of his career? Whether or not the winner of that fight will face Adonis Stevenson or whomever the WBC champion might be to determine an undisputed champion remains to be seen.

We will see whether Hopkins can continue his unification quest when he faces Sergey Kovalev in November on a date yet to be determined. It is clear to this observer however, that the ingredients are there for not only a highly anticipated battle, but also what will likely be a memorable night of Boxing.

“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 

 

Campillo Wins IBF Eliminator

Former WBA Light-Heavyweight world champion Gabriel Campillo has been a fighter who has seen his share of ups and downs throughout his career. Despite being a former world and former European Light-Heavyweight champion, Campillo is perhaps best known for being on the losing end of decisions that some believed should have gone his way in his fights with Beibut Shumenov and Tavoris Cloud.

After losing to Tavoris Cloud in 2012, Campillo would suffer two knockout losses in his next four fights at the hands of current WBO Light-Heavyweight world champion Sergey Kovalev and recent world title challenger Andrzej Fonfara. Following his loss to Fonfara there were some who questioned whether Campillo’s days as a top contender in the hunt for a shot at a world title were behind him.

Campillo returned to the ring following his loss to Fonfara in May of this year scoring a seventh round stoppage of British contender Ricky Pow. The former world champion looked to build on the momentum from his win over Pow when he took on undefeated IBF number six rated contender Thomas Williams Jr. on Friday night at the Little Creek Casino in Shelton, Washington.

Williams, who entered the fight with a record of 17-0, with 12 Knockouts appeared to be the favorite going into the fight, despite Campillo’s higher level of opposition and experience. In fights where an unbeaten prospect/ contender who one might argue has not been tested in his career steps up to face a veteran who has more experience, the question that will likely be asked is how will that fighter respond to adversity should it occur.

Campillo, who entered the fight with a record of 23-6-1, with 10 Knockouts would be the battle tested veteran who would ask those questions of Williams. It was clear from the opening bell that the undefeated Williams had the advantage in terms of power as he landed solid shots to the body and head of Campillo. It appeared early in this fight that the opinion of some that Campillo was now on the decline may have been warranted.

Williams kept up his aggression in round two as he consistently forced the action and was able to keep Campillo somewhat on the defensive. Although Williams was able to get off to a good start in this fight, Campillo did not appear hurt by Williams’ offense. 

Although he appeared to lose the first two rounds Campillo, a native of Madrid, Spain began to let his hands go more frequently in round three as he looked to win his first fight in the United States. The tempo of the fight shifted in round four as Campillo opened a cut over Williams’ left eye in with his jab.

Clearly bothered by the cut, Williams used movement to try and avoid Campillo who was now the aggressor. Williams’ solid offense earlier in this fight was not there at this stage and at the end of the fifth round, the fight was stopped by a ringside physician who deemed the cut too dangerous for Williams to continue.

Some might criticize Williams by saying he was affected by the cut and did not respond to the adversity however, it is important to remember that any cut especially one that can affect a fighter’s vision can certainly play a role in how a fighter fights. In my opinion, it is how a fighter deals with a setback that will determine what they are made of. We will have to wait and see what the future holds for the Fort Washington, Maryland native Thomas Williams Jr. , but this loss to Campillo should be looked at as a setback that will likely benefit Williams in the long-term.

The fight, which was billed as an IBF Light-Heavyweight eliminator for the number two ranking now puts Gabriel Campillo very much back in the mix for a potential world title shot. How quickly that opportunity may come his way however, remains to be seen. It was announced on Friday that an agreement had been reached for a potential unification bout between current IBF/WBA Light-Heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins and WBO champion Sergey Kovalev to take place in November.

The agreement however, will depend on whether Kovalev is successful in his title defense Saturday night against former IBO champion Blake Caparello in Atlantic City. The possibility exists that Campillo now the number two contender will next face French contender Nadjib Mohammedi, the current IBF number one contender to determine a mandatory challenger for the winner of the potential Hopkins-Kovalev fight, should it happen.

Whether or not the politics of the sport will prevent a potential world title shot for Gabriel Campillo at least in the short-term remains to be seen. Campillo has however, showed that despite suffering some setbacks and some questions about his future not only as a top contender, but also as a fighter in general that he is still a top contender in the Light-Heavyweight division.

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“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