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Boxing is packing a punch again
Boxing is packing a punch again
August 1, 2007
By Mark Staniforth PA SportsTicker Boxing Writer
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Boxing was supposed to have been swept aside by now, or stomped into the canvas by a swathe of bulging-bicepped mixed martial artists.
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Its pay-per-view figures were falling, its flagship divisions were failing and its traditional fanbase was looking elsewhere for its combat thrills.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Oscar de la Hoya got it together at just the right time. They put boxing back in the spotlight when the sport needed it most.
Some said they saved boxing. But in reality, boxing was always going to need more than two men to keep MMA at bay and retrieve its place on the back pages.
It needed to sweep decades of political rivalries aside and pit its biggest stars in each division against each other. History suggested it was an impossible ask.
But boxing has delivered. This autumn's provisional boxing schedule is one of the most exciting for many years.
Here we take a look at the superfights to come: September 29, Atlantic City: Jermain Taylor v Kelly Pavlik. Despite holding two wins over Bernard Hopkins, subsequent grim fights with Winky Wright and Cory Spinks have left world middleweight champion Taylor (27-0-1, 17kos) with plenty of points still to prove.
He gets the chance against the ferocious-punching Pavlik (31-0, 28kos), who assumed the position of top contender with a sensational seventh-round stoppage of wild Colombian Edison Miranda in May.
QUOTE: "We've already sold 1,500 tickets on the floor, and we haven't even printed up a poster yet. This fight is creating a big buzz in the boxing world - Taylor's promoter Lou DiBella.
OUTCOME: No doubt Pavlik's style will suit Taylor more than his last two foes. But can he do much about it? Taylor often looks shockingly one-dimensional. Pavlik can stop the champion in the late rounds of a thriller. October 6, Las Vegas: Manny Pacquiao v Marco Antonio Barrera. Great Mexican Barrera (63-5, 42kos) returns against the fiery Filipino who dished out his worst beating ever with an 11th-round stoppage win in their first fight in Texas four years ago.
Super-feather Pacquiao (44-3-2, 35kos) is now at the peak of his powers. Barrera is undoubtedly past his best, and he knows the best way to make the most of his last chance will be to take this fight into the trenches.
QUOTE: "Fighting Barrera is a career highlight for me. He has already beaten great world champions and I know I am going to have to train harder than ever to beat him" - Pacquiao.
OUTCOME: Barrera was dominated in his last fight by Juan Manuel Marquez but only a fool would write him off. Nevertheless Pacquiao starts a strong favorite to win another fight that cannot fail to be exciting. October 13, Moscow: Ruslan Chagaev v Sultan Ibragimov. OK, so it's hardly the second coming of Muhammad Ali. But the clash between the two former Soviets deserves recognition as the first heavyweight title unification bout since Lennox Lewis met Evander Holyfield in 1999.
Classy Chagaev (23-0-1, 17kos) clinched the WBA crown by becoming the first man to defeat giant Nikolai Valuev. Ibragimov (21-0-1, 17kos) easily claimed Shannon Briggs' WBO belt.
QUOTE: "This is going to be a big night for the entire sport of boxing. For the first time in nearly a decade we are finally getting closer to seeing who the true king of the heavyweight division is" - Co-promoter Oscar de la Hoya.
OUTCOME: Former world amateur champion Chagaev is massively under-rated. He produced a textbook tactical performance to beat Valuev, and his left hand is arguably the hardest in the sport. He can win clearly on points. November 3, Cardiff, Wales: Joe Calzaghe v Mikkel Kessler. Finally the world's two best super-middleweights, Calzaghe (43-0, 32kos) and Kessler (39-0, 29kos), will get it on in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in front of a crowd expected to exceed 50,000.
Both are classy, fast-punching fighters who can be relied upon to showcase all that is great about modern boxing. Between them they have proved too good for 82 opponents, and opinion is split on which is now about to fall.
QUOTE: "I'm very excited about it and I think it's the best fight I've put together in the last 20 years. It's the biggest fight out there because both fighters are on top of their game" - promoter Frank Warren.
OUTCOME: A flashy distance fight is likely between two men who clearly know how to survive at the top level. But Calzaghe should just have the edge in speed, power and experience to win well on points. November 10, New York: Shane Mosley v Miguel Cotto. Fresh from a stunning, all-action win over Zab Judah in June, Cotto (30-0, 25kos) returns to Madison Square Garden for his sternest test against the veteran two-weight world champion Mosley (44-4, 37kos).
Renowned for his all-action style and ferocious body punching, Cotto will have it all to do against the slick, fast-punching Mosley in what promises to be an intriguing clash of styles.
QUOTE: "I think it will be a sensational fight. If you're building a real superstar like we are doing with Miguel, this is the kind of fight he must take. It could be fight of the year" - promoter Bob Arum.
OUTCOME: Mosley is certainly a cut above Judah. He is the bigger man and his power can pose Cotto plenty of problems. But he could not put away Luis Collazo in February, and Cotto's tempo can eke out a points win. December 8, Las Vegas: Floyd Mayweather Jr. v Ricky Hatton. Las Vegas is bracing itself for another British invasion when the big welterweight showdown between Mayweather (38-0, 24kos) and Hatton (43-0, 31kos) is officially confirmed this week.
It is a mark of Hatton's growing trans-Atlantic stature that Mayweather has been tempted out of a short-lived retirement for what promises to be a tough, tense clash between two of the best in the business.
QUOTE: "Hatton is in for a rude awakening when we meet and he is in for a shock if he thinks I'm like any fighter he has ever faced. I'm in the business of blood, sweat and tears" - Mayweather.
OUTCOME: Mayweather must start as favorite. But Hatton's mobility is often overlooked and he could give 'Pretty Boy' a taste of his own medicine. Twelve tight rounds can be expected, in which the 'Hitman' has every chance.
Boxing is packing a punch again
Boxing is packing a punch again
August 1, 2007
By Mark Staniforth PA SportsTicker Boxing Writer
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Boxing was supposed to have been swept aside by now, or stomped into the canvas by a swathe of bulging-bicepped mixed martial artists.
ADVERTISEMENT
Its pay-per-view figures were falling, its flagship divisions were failing and its traditional fanbase was looking elsewhere for its combat thrills.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Oscar de la Hoya got it together at just the right time. They put boxing back in the spotlight when the sport needed it most.
Some said they saved boxing. But in reality, boxing was always going to need more than two men to keep MMA at bay and retrieve its place on the back pages.
It needed to sweep decades of political rivalries aside and pit its biggest stars in each division against each other. History suggested it was an impossible ask.
But boxing has delivered. This autumn's provisional boxing schedule is one of the most exciting for many years.
Here we take a look at the superfights to come: September 29, Atlantic City: Jermain Taylor v Kelly Pavlik. Despite holding two wins over Bernard Hopkins, subsequent grim fights with Winky Wright and Cory Spinks have left world middleweight champion Taylor (27-0-1, 17kos) with plenty of points still to prove.
He gets the chance against the ferocious-punching Pavlik (31-0, 28kos), who assumed the position of top contender with a sensational seventh-round stoppage of wild Colombian Edison Miranda in May.
QUOTE: "We've already sold 1,500 tickets on the floor, and we haven't even printed up a poster yet. This fight is creating a big buzz in the boxing world - Taylor's promoter Lou DiBella.
OUTCOME: No doubt Pavlik's style will suit Taylor more than his last two foes. But can he do much about it? Taylor often looks shockingly one-dimensional. Pavlik can stop the champion in the late rounds of a thriller. October 6, Las Vegas: Manny Pacquiao v Marco Antonio Barrera. Great Mexican Barrera (63-5, 42kos) returns against the fiery Filipino who dished out his worst beating ever with an 11th-round stoppage win in their first fight in Texas four years ago.
Super-feather Pacquiao (44-3-2, 35kos) is now at the peak of his powers. Barrera is undoubtedly past his best, and he knows the best way to make the most of his last chance will be to take this fight into the trenches.
QUOTE: "Fighting Barrera is a career highlight for me. He has already beaten great world champions and I know I am going to have to train harder than ever to beat him" - Pacquiao.
OUTCOME: Barrera was dominated in his last fight by Juan Manuel Marquez but only a fool would write him off. Nevertheless Pacquiao starts a strong favorite to win another fight that cannot fail to be exciting. October 13, Moscow: Ruslan Chagaev v Sultan Ibragimov. OK, so it's hardly the second coming of Muhammad Ali. But the clash between the two former Soviets deserves recognition as the first heavyweight title unification bout since Lennox Lewis met Evander Holyfield in 1999.
Classy Chagaev (23-0-1, 17kos) clinched the WBA crown by becoming the first man to defeat giant Nikolai Valuev. Ibragimov (21-0-1, 17kos) easily claimed Shannon Briggs' WBO belt.
QUOTE: "This is going to be a big night for the entire sport of boxing. For the first time in nearly a decade we are finally getting closer to seeing who the true king of the heavyweight division is" - Co-promoter Oscar de la Hoya.
OUTCOME: Former world amateur champion Chagaev is massively under-rated. He produced a textbook tactical performance to beat Valuev, and his left hand is arguably the hardest in the sport. He can win clearly on points. November 3, Cardiff, Wales: Joe Calzaghe v Mikkel Kessler. Finally the world's two best super-middleweights, Calzaghe (43-0, 32kos) and Kessler (39-0, 29kos), will get it on in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in front of a crowd expected to exceed 50,000.
Both are classy, fast-punching fighters who can be relied upon to showcase all that is great about modern boxing. Between them they have proved too good for 82 opponents, and opinion is split on which is now about to fall.
QUOTE: "I'm very excited about it and I think it's the best fight I've put together in the last 20 years. It's the biggest fight out there because both fighters are on top of their game" - promoter Frank Warren.
OUTCOME: A flashy distance fight is likely between two men who clearly know how to survive at the top level. But Calzaghe should just have the edge in speed, power and experience to win well on points. November 10, New York: Shane Mosley v Miguel Cotto. Fresh from a stunning, all-action win over Zab Judah in June, Cotto (30-0, 25kos) returns to Madison Square Garden for his sternest test against the veteran two-weight world champion Mosley (44-4, 37kos).
Renowned for his all-action style and ferocious body punching, Cotto will have it all to do against the slick, fast-punching Mosley in what promises to be an intriguing clash of styles.
QUOTE: "I think it will be a sensational fight. If you're building a real superstar like we are doing with Miguel, this is the kind of fight he must take. It could be fight of the year" - promoter Bob Arum.
OUTCOME: Mosley is certainly a cut above Judah. He is the bigger man and his power can pose Cotto plenty of problems. But he could not put away Luis Collazo in February, and Cotto's tempo can eke out a points win. December 8, Las Vegas: Floyd Mayweather Jr. v Ricky Hatton. Las Vegas is bracing itself for another British invasion when the big welterweight showdown between Mayweather (38-0, 24kos) and Hatton (43-0, 31kos) is officially confirmed this week.
It is a mark of Hatton's growing trans-Atlantic stature that Mayweather has been tempted out of a short-lived retirement for what promises to be a tough, tense clash between two of the best in the business.
QUOTE: "Hatton is in for a rude awakening when we meet and he is in for a shock if he thinks I'm like any fighter he has ever faced. I'm in the business of blood, sweat and tears" - Mayweather.
OUTCOME: Mayweather must start as favorite. But Hatton's mobility is often overlooked and he could give 'Pretty Boy' a taste of his own medicine. Twelve tight rounds can be expected, in which the 'Hitman' has every chance.
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