Andrei Arlovski Debuts on Casamayor-Marquez PPV

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

It appears that former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski will make his boxing debut on the undercard to Joel Casamayor vs. Juan Manuel Marquez on September 13 on HBO pay-per-view. According to Dan Rafael, the fight will be the opening bout on the Las Vegas card. [details]

[Hagler★]

damn i hope he dont get whacked i like arlovski

[Silencers]

Arlovski is pretty good at striking but doesn't have a good chin, good luck to him.

[KILLA RIGHT]

I hope all mma fighters that come to boxing get ko'd

[Mistadobalina]

andrei is a good athlete, packs a good punch, and carries 235-240lbs very well for his frame. that alone should make him dangerous against low-mid level journeymen at best.

concerning his punching power, that's something that is hard to measure in mma, as any wrestler who literally trained boxing for 3 weeks can end up knocking some guy out, who happens to be even worse than he is at standing. in boxing you actually have to earn the right to be called a "puncher".

he should be matched up against a fellow debutant with little to no amateur experience, or at least a fattened up cruiserweight club fighter. his chin and his stamina are gonna be tested at one point, and when that happens he'll crumble. he won't make it to the top, i doubt he'll even make it to the C+, B- level, but i'll definitely watch the guy. he's one of my fav mma fighters.

[Mistadobalina]

Arlovski is pretty good at striking but doesn't have a good chin, good luck to him.

he can throw a decent 1-2, but he has no idea how to setup his combinations; his footwork is limited to back-pedaling away from punches. he just relied on his ability to step in and out and either back straight up or clinch and push his opponent away. against guys who know how to make a man pay for moving straight back, and guys who actually can throw a decent punch, that fact alone will give andrei problems. these are things he can get away with in mma since all his opponents were either ground based fighters, or strikers who couldn't hold the jockstrap of peter mcneely. the one guy he fought who at least had SOME idea of boxing fundamentals (tim sylvia) made arlovski bewildered and unable to cope with a man who was simply throwing a jab out at him.

[Silencers]

he can throw a decent 1-2, but he has no idea how to setup his punches; his footwork is limited to back-pedaling away from punches. these are things he can get away with in mma since all his opponents were either ground based fighters, or strikers who couldn't hold the jockstrap of peeter mcneely. the one guy he fought who at least had SOME idea of boxing fundamentals (tim sylvia) made arlovski bewildered and unable to cope with a man who was simply throwing a jab out at him.

Maybe Roach has taught him a few things, I think they've been working together for a few months now but yeah, Sylvia managed to confuse him badly and made him hesitant.

[shadeyfizzle]

he can throw a decent 1-2, but he has no idea how to setup his combinations; his footwork is limited to back-pedaling away from punches. he just relied on his ability to step in and out and either back straight up or clinch and push his opponent away. against guys who know how to make a man pay for moving straight back, and guys who actually can throw a decent punch, that fact alone will give andrei problems. these are things he can get away with in mma since all his opponents were either ground based fighters, or strikers who couldn't hold the jockstrap of peter mcneely. the one guy he fought who at least had SOME idea of boxing fundamentals (tim sylvia) made arlovski bewildered and unable to cope with a man who was simply throwing a jab out at him.

I cant believe how easily you're writing him off. We're talking about a former UFC heavyweight champion who is so athletically gifted that he was already a former world champion at jiujitsu and a world class kickboxer before he even jumped into mma. Making the jump to boxing would make him the equivalent of a european bo jackson or deion sanders. The guy actually has a great understanding of boxing and has quick hands...and has good combinations. The only reason he doesnt shine in boxing in his mma bouts is that it's not his primary strengths and as such takes an adapted stance that would allow him to take advantage of his natural strengths...which would be his grappling ability and using his long legs to kick from a distance.

[ALIENVIRUS]

i want to see this, a former UFC heavyweight champ going into a debut boxing match. i wanna see how he will do when he doesnt have to worry about takedowns, knees, elbows, kicks, and submissions. just solely standup with his hands and with freddie roach training him he should pick up a few things. i wouldnt doubt his ability to get into a boxing match because he is a fighter and Jens Pulver did it and got a 4-0 boxing record but didnt stick with it because he did wrestling first in college then fought mma and boxing was just a side thing for him.

[Mistadobalina]

I cant believe how easily you're writing him off. We're talking about a former UFC heavyweight champion who is so athletically gifted that he was already a former world champion at jiujitsu and a world class kickboxer before he even jumped into mma. Making the jump to boxing would make him the equivalent of a european bo jackson or deion sanders. The guy actually has a great understanding of boxing and has quick hands...and has good combinations. The only reason he doesnt shine in boxing in his mma bouts is that it's not his primary strengths and as such takes an adapted stance that would allow him to take advantage of his natural strengths...which would be his grappling ability and using his long legs to kick from a distance.

read my post above the one you quoted. i know exactly what you're saying.

but grappling ability? everyone knows andrei's grappling is limited to submission defense. don't let that sylvia victory fool you, andrei is NOT a submission specialist. forget all that sambo champion BS, as it has had very minimal to do with his overall success in the past. his fists have always been his main tools. andreis grappling ability is the equivalent of wanderlei's silva so called "black belt" in jiu-jitsu.

and "great understanding of boxing"? let's not push it buddy. to have a great understanding of ANY sport, you'd at least have to compete in a single bout. mighty mo, rick roufus, ray sefo, etc, etc. are all k-1 kickboxing legends who were known for their great boxing skills when compared to other kickboxers...they thought that would translate into success when they actually tried their hand at the actual sport, but they never managed to get past the D level. the fearsome punching mighty mo who ko'd semmy schilt and was supposed to take the head off the 40 year old part-time boxer got his jaw broken and was thoroughly embarassed. the durable ray sefo who had eaten punches from jerome lebanner, and taken kicks to the dome from the likes of hoost, filho, bonjasky, aerts, and others found himself half-conscious, and crucified on the ropes against a nobody heavyweight puncher. those men were all accomplished professional strikers (not semi-strikers who have to deal with takedowns, subs, etc etc) who had far better talent that translated into boxing, and had a far greater "understanding of boxing" than arlovski ever had or ever will....and look what happened to them.