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By Cliff Rold - How fast can a decade go by? Ask yourself where you were when then-undefeated heavyweight prospects David Tua and Ike Ibeabuchi squared off in a classic at Sacramento’s ARCO Arena on HBO’s Boxing After Dark (B.A.D.)
That’s how fast.
It’s actually been more than a decade since that twelve round war of attrition in the summer of 2007 left audiences with their jaws on the floor. The best of HBO’s Boxing After Dark is often, and fairly, remembered as the television launching pad for the smaller fighters and their wars, for Marco Antonio Barrera-Kennedy McKinney and the rise of Arturo Gatti.
It also delivered with the big boys. This weekend, it promises a return to that form with one of the better early career crossroads bouts, on paper, in the Heavyweight division since the B.A.D heyday. 28-year old undefeated 2004 Olympic Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist Alexander Povetkin (14-0, 11 KO) of Russia and 25-year old “Fast” Eddie Chambers (30-0, 16 KO) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, face off for the right to challenge Wladimir Klitschko. They have one hell of a legacy to live up to.
While Tua-Ibeabuchi is the most celebrated of the B.A.D. heavyweight brawls, it wasn’t the only bout of its kind. Tua was the one of the centerpiece Heavyweights on the show from late 1996 to late 1998, participating in four grueling bouts. The loss to Ibeabuchi was surrounded by late round, come from behind stoppages of David Izon, current titlist Oleg Maskaev, and eventual World Heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman. Every one was must see stuff for boxing lovers. [details]
That’s how fast.
It’s actually been more than a decade since that twelve round war of attrition in the summer of 2007 left audiences with their jaws on the floor. The best of HBO’s Boxing After Dark is often, and fairly, remembered as the television launching pad for the smaller fighters and their wars, for Marco Antonio Barrera-Kennedy McKinney and the rise of Arturo Gatti.
It also delivered with the big boys. This weekend, it promises a return to that form with one of the better early career crossroads bouts, on paper, in the Heavyweight division since the B.A.D heyday. 28-year old undefeated 2004 Olympic Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist Alexander Povetkin (14-0, 11 KO) of Russia and 25-year old “Fast” Eddie Chambers (30-0, 16 KO) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, face off for the right to challenge Wladimir Klitschko. They have one hell of a legacy to live up to.
While Tua-Ibeabuchi is the most celebrated of the B.A.D. heavyweight brawls, it wasn’t the only bout of its kind. Tua was the one of the centerpiece Heavyweights on the show from late 1996 to late 1998, participating in four grueling bouts. The loss to Ibeabuchi was surrounded by late round, come from behind stoppages of David Izon, current titlist Oleg Maskaev, and eventual World Heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman. Every one was must see stuff for boxing lovers. [details]
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