I'm glad that ESPN had this special edition of boxing on a Saturday night on prime time. Really puts boxing on the map and especially when you have two good fights like we saw this weekend.
Amir Imam vs Yordenis Ugas
I'm very familiar with Amir since he trains right here in S. Florida and the kid is good. I thought this was a risky fight for him as Atlas was saying because of Ugas' experience, but I was pleasantly surprised as to how well he adjusted and just clearly out boxed an Olympian like that.
Imam is fast, has good defense and surprising power. He is still young with only 14 fights but this was a good test for him that he passed with flying colors.
Interesting to see what he can do at 140 in the near future.
Arreola vs Stiverne
I thought Arreola came in great shape, and was out working Stiverne early on. I had him ahead in the fight before he got caught but there was a few things that bothered me about this fight.
Now, as a trainer myself, I would never question another trainer since that's an un-written rule but I don't know why Henry Ramirez didn't tell Chris to stay on the outside andjust keep working his jab. Every time he got inside, he was being countered with big shots from Stiverne.
Arreola's defense leaves a lot to be desired and he has almost no head movement. When he jabs at distance and follows behind that jab with the right hand, he can be a handful. Unfortunately he didn't do that enough, and I think got caught up in the crowd and went in to brawl.
Sometimes people think being shorter is just a disadvantage, when in reality it can be an advantage. In this case, Arreola walking in, with his head right in the middle was a big mistake. Even though it was a looping right hand that caught him, it was because he was getting very aggressive and careless.
I feel bad for Arreola because I do think he can be much better with a few adjustments. I just think at 32 years of age, and being with the same trainer, I don't know if that is a possibility.
As far as Stiverne, I don't think he beats Klitchko (don't think anyone beats Klitchko) but the fight vs Wilder is interesting. I think Wilder would be smart obviously to stay on the outside and just use the jab and follow with the right hand which I think he will do. Plus the low punch output from Stiverne I think hurts him in this fight.
I see Wilder beating Stiverne by KO and then a showdown with Wilder vs Klitchko in the near future. That fight should be interesting because of Wilders size and power and the fact that it might be in the U.S.
What did you think about Wilder Zelenoff?
I recently found out about this kid Zelenoff and I really think he's sick man. He's going to get himself killed, literally. He's going to fuk with the wrong group of people and you will end up reading about this kid.
On a side note, there's some interview with him by Eli Setbach and I'm disappointed in Eli. I know he want's to legitimize his career and this is not a good step in doing so.
Fair points other than Wilder, he is barely a professional the way he fights. I see nothing resembling skill and he has in no way proven his quality other than having a cannon of an overhand right yet is regarded at a top 5 HW now it seems, why?
Well, I think you kind of made my argument in your last sentence..lol.
The HW division is so bad that a guy with basic boxing skill and a bomb for a right hand is being talked about.
I think with his size and power though, it's a bad match up for Stiverne IMO. That right hand will land and when it does what will happen?
Yea and I also hate the way Arreola throws his right hand. I been saying this for years, it looks so awkward. He raises his elbow and pushes it and still KO's people.
I can only imagine what it would be like if he threw it properly and actually turned it over how much power he could get.
Yea it annoys me as well, its almost as tho he's trying to throw it from above. Its also very obvious that he's gonna throw it because he raises his elbow and shoulder like u said
Moving his head would have been nice
Yea and I also hate the way Arreola throws his right hand. I been saying this for years, it looks so awkward. He raises his elbow and pushes it and still KO's people.
I can only imagine what it would be like if he threw it properly and actually turned it over how much power he could get.
I was just happy to have exciting HWT boxing on mainstream US TV.
As for the fight, Chris did need to fight from the outside. I agree with you 100% he made a costly strategic error. Thought it was as bad as Tim's decision not to keep boxing against Manny.
My immediate thought was when will guys learn that "winning boring" is better than "losing excitingly"
Moving his head would have been nice
12y ago
Cuauhtemoc1520's take on this weekend 5/10/2014 | BoxingScene Community