3,425 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Cliff Rold byline.
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This week, boxing returns to Macau with a show that looks... …we’ll get to that. We’re closing in on a return to big time action and this is the last weekend of what has been a rough February for boxing fans. It’s a decent close and all things considered, this weekend could be quite a bit of fun. But where will the fun reside? These are the picks of the week.
by Cliff Rold - It’s always about tomorrow. Even the biggest nights in boxing history only really lasted from bell to bell. Sure, there can be time for reflection, but the real rush is in the anticipation for, and culmination of, a bout. When it’s over, the question is always the same: What’s next? Friday night at the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin, Nevada (ESPN2, 9 PM EST/6 PM PST), four six-round bouts will set the stage for a pair of tomorrows. The real hope has to be what comes after those tomorrows are complete. It is the beginning of what have been named the “Boxcino” tournaments, two eight-man single elimination tournaments in the Lightweight and Middleweight division. These aren’t the first tournaments boxing fans have had to look forward to. Unlike the HBO Heavyweight tournament in the 80s or the Super Six Super Middleweight tournament a few years ago, this one isn’t looking to crown a champion.
Much has happened since the BoxingScene Pound-for-Pound list was updated in November 2013. Manny Pacquiao returned with an easy win. Carl Froch returned with a win that was anything but. Andre Ward got active again and looked, shy of Floyd Mayweather, like what he’s been for most of the last few years: the best practitioner of the Sweet Science around.
While changes have been in short supply so far in 2014, the main events are coming together for a hot spring and the divisional ratings are due for an update. Among changes to be found: Middleweight: Darren Barker exits due to his retirement. Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam returns to the top ten. Jarrod Fletcher enters the top ten off a victory over previously rated Max Bursak.
By Cliff Rold - 29-year old Jr. Welterweight Chris Algieri (19-0, 8 KO) won his eighth in a row at the Paramount Theatre in his hometown of Huntington, New York, on Friday night with a skillful ten-round unanimous decision over 23-year old Emmanuel Taylor (17-2, 12 KO) of Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland. There were no knockdowns in the bout but there were plenty of solid exchanges on a night where Algieri was too active and too quick to be denied. Algieri weighed in at 142 for the contest, Taylor at 141. Both men looked to have filled out to well better than those weights by fight time. The referee was Harvey Dunn. Each looked to establish their jab in the first, Taylor doing more of the pressing as Algieri worked around the ring and looked for spots for his right hand. Action heated up as the second round progressed, a notable exchange in the final minute featuring hard uppercuts from both men. Algieri mixed in a flurry of blows to go along with his to maintain control of the frame. The next three rounds all saw Algieri continuing to throw flashier shots with Taylor incrementally increasing his presence in the fight. In the fifth, Taylor had his best round, landing hard and often. Algieri responded strong, coming back in combination and stuffing the left hand underneath to the body.
While high profile boxing is still a couple of weeks away, the sport has multiple television dates this week and not a moment too soon. Some of us have had to resort to watching Winter Olympics. Okay, some of us secretly like the Winter Olympics but never realize it until they’re on, opting instead to mock them in between events. Um… Anyways, for fans that like to see what’s coming as much as they like to see what’s already on top, there is a heavy menu. And speaking of heavy, two of the more fun Heavyweight combatants in class are in action working towards a possible rematch and dreams of titles ahead.
By Cliff Rold - In what stands out as the de facto big fight of a week without any real big fights, Mexico’s WBC 108 lb. titlist Adrian Hernandez (28-2-1, 17 KO) attempts the fourth defense of his second title reign against Puerto Rican Janiel Rivera (10-1-2, 6 KO). It won’t attract much global attention but a win for Hernandez would not be without significance for him. For Hernandez and all of the men who hold belts at Jr. Flyweight, this is a moment of opportunity. In January, Roman Gonzalez made official his exit from the division by vacating the WBA “Super” belt and making clear that he was now campaigning in the deep 112 lb. field. Gonzalez (37-0, 31 KO) is installed already as the mandatory to lineal and WBC World Champion Akira Yaegashi. It will be no surprise if the Nicaraguan night-night machine soon as a title in his third weight division.
by Cliff Rold - It’s always fun when the author can dust off some old books. And be assured, boxing fans, our ‘sun of York’ is coming. But as more snow pelts vast swaths of the US, the Super Bowl fades to memory, and the unbearably long NBA preseason plays out before the real season begins with its eternity of playoff games, it is surely winter. Punxatawney Phil saw his shadow and Bill Murray has already made it to February 3rd. Six more weeks of winter beckon. It will feel like almost that long before a fight the masses really care about comes about again.
Sergio Martinez remains history’s Middleweight king. Doesn’t it feel like a formality more and more every time Gennady Golovkin steps into a ring? With his sixteenth knockout in a row, 11 of them in eleven title fights (including his interim WBA belt win), Golovkin is a terror. Sure, there isn’t a depth of ‘top contenders’ on his ledger but there has been plenty on the borderline. Case in point: Osumanu Adama.
By Cliff Rold - The week’s big events began with a knockout and most expect another before Saturday is done. Luis Collazo reshaped his place on the Welterweight landscape with a one-punch shocker against Victor Ortiz. It wasn’t a surprise Collazo won. The way he did it was. There will be no surprises if WBA/IBO Middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin ends matters early in his latest foray. It’s what he does. The surprise will be if he can finally culminate his chase in 2014. Lineal Middleweight king Sergio Martinez has a big paying event ahead this summer with Miguel Cotto. If he wins there, will he accept the challenge from his number one threat?