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Serial thrillers: Boxing's five most exciting fighters
Article By
Andrew Wake
The men who electrify the sweet science
Three weekends back the boxing world was given the pleasure of watching Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto engage in a bloody and thrilling battle that will be talked about by fans and writers a like for many years to come.
The fight for the WBA welterweight title came at just the right time as the two preceding weekends had been far from electrifying. Wladimir Klitschko had retained his heavyweight titles by stopping Tony “Not much of a Tiger” Thompson in the eleventh of what, until that point, had been a disappointing affair. Then a week later Klitschko’s heir apparent Alexander Povetkin had defeated another mediocre American in Taurus Sykes with a punch that was more brushing than bruising.
So the Cotto-Mrgarito fight, coupled with last week's decent scrap between fellow welterweights Zab Judah and Joshua Clottey, has put any thoughts of those tedious heavyweight fights to bed and re-stimulated our fistic mojos, but for me the fights also provoked another thought: Who actually are the most exciting boxers out there?
Michael Katsidis
Aussie ****er Katsidis didn’t earn his “New Gatti” tag by standing at range and pawing with jab. Like the thrill-a-minute Canadian, Katsidis is a face-first, blood and guts battler who believes that sometimes (well, a lot of times actually) you have to take one on the chin to land one.
When I first heard of Katsidis he had 19 knockouts from 21 victories, but had yet to face anyone of note; I merely put him down as another Australian who had padded his ledger with routine wins over blown up featherweights and no hopers. Suffice to say I expected him to crumble when he fought his first real test against Britain’s Graham Earl.
The bout, for the interim WBO lightweight crown, was a war from the opening bell and Katsidis floored Earl twice in the final 30 seconds of the opening round. The barrage of punches continued in the second round and once more the Englishman found himself on the canvas.
So in command was Katsidis that Earl’s corner threw the towel in but realising that the fight was far from over referee Mickey Vann picked it up and threw it back out of the ring. It was an odd thing for a referee to do but it proved to be the right thing as Earl came firing back with a right-hand and Katsidis’ knees buckled.
The fourth session was among the candidates for round of the year as Katsidis poured forward and land punishing shot after shot on his foe’s jaw but Earl continued to drink from the well of resolve and fired back some solid hooks of his own.
The action continued in the fifth but by now you could really see the effects that Katsidis’ hard punching had taken out of Earl and when the round ended, trainer Johnny Eames pulled him. It had been a barnstormer and announced the Queenslander’s presence on the world scene.
The Aussie ****er didn’t disappoint on his American debut either, coming through a torrid and bloody battle with Czar Amonsot of the Philippines.
Katsidis knocked Amonsot down in the second and tenth stanzas but was forced to withstand some of the Filipino’s heavy artillery and finished up with severe bruising and cuts around his eyes. Amonsot, unfortunately, faired far worse as it was later discovered that he suffered bleeding on his brain and is unlikely to ever fight again.
Since then, Katsidis has lost his undefeated record to Joel Casamayor, but it was another thrilling encounter as the Aussie twice got up from the canvas to floor the Cuban great in the sixth before eventually being stopped in the tenth round.
As Arturo Gatti proved throughout his career, you don’t have to be very polished or unbeatable fighter to be an exciting one and I’m sure that Katsidis will provide us with plenty more thrills in the future.
Edwin Valero
The hard hitting Venezuelan may not have a long list of top level fistic practitioners on his resume but any fighter who has knocked out every man he has ever faced has to be considered exciting.
The super featherweight Valero, 26, burst onto the scene in 2002 and embarked on a run the saw him blast his first 18 opponents in the opening round -- a world record until broken recently by US middleweight Tyrone Brunson. However, notoriety did not come his way as the results of MRI scan taken in 2004 had uncovered brain irregularities caused by a motorcycle accident three years earlier and he was banned from competing in boxing’s most media versed market, America.
Instead, Valero fought out of his base in Tokyo, Japan and continued to power punch his way to a world title shot.
That shot was granted by the WBA and at the Figali Convention Center in Panama City in August, 2006; Valero stopped hometown fighter Vicente Mosquera in the tenth round.
Going into the clash many had questioned how a raw but thrilling southpaw like Valero could fair against a man with a record of 24-1 after steamrolling a long line of proverbial tin cans; and when he was dropped in the third round it seemed that maybe the man nicknamed “Dinamita” might have been found out but he clambered back to his feet, regained his composure, and hit his opponent to the head and body with such force that eventually the Panamanian’s corner conceded defeat.
Since then Valero has made four defences of his crown, stopping each adversary, and has set his sights on a showdown with pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao.
There are still a lot of questions surrounding Valero’s ability as he throws wide hooks and appears open for a beating from a competent counter-puncher but while he keeps knocking ‘em over, the interest in him will continue.
Also, he has recently relocated to Las Vegas and acquired a license to fight in Texas so that duel with the Pac-man may not be far away. It could be the fight of the decade but with the Filipino idol looking at fights with the likes of Ricky Hatton and Nate Campbell, it’s a clash we may have to wait some time for.
Kelly Pavlik
A skinny boy who hits like he has horseshoes in his gloves! What’s not to love?
But it’s not just the Youngstown native’s devastating punching power and his willingness to fight anyone at any time that makes him such a breath of fresh air. The 26 year old is one of the most down to earth pugs currently in the game and never criticises any opponent or their credentials – he has his trainer Jack Loew to do that.
Despite still being young and fresh, Kelly has been around for over eight years now, having made his pro debut with a third round knockout of unheralded Eric Benito Tzand in June 2000.
Pavlik became a regular feature on the undercards of major bouts, fighting on the b-side of De La Hoya-Hopkins and the third Barrera-Morales clash among others, but didn’t get what could be called a stern test until he defeated Colombian powerhouse Fulgencio Zuniga for the vacant NABF middleweight title.
Pavlik made a decent start to the fight, working his jab and right cross to good effect but failed to get out of the way of an arching left hook and found himself on the canvas. More stunned than hurt, Pavlik was bouncing on his feet within seconds and, after closing the opening session comfortably enough, he came back to take control of the bout before the Colombian’s corner pulled their man out at the end of the ninth.
“The Ghost”, as he is nicknamed, made his major network breakthrough in early 2007 when he took on Jose Luis Zertuche, a 2000 Mexican Olympian, on HBO. Zertuche did land his far share of solid shots but Pavlik kept on attacking and eventually halted his man in the eighth round.
This victory gave Pavlik the number one challenger rating with the WBC and rumblings about a potential match up with undisputed middleweight king Jermain Taylor began to be uttered by boxing journalists, but still the general feeling was that that the affable Ohio man would be found wanting when he stepped into legitimate contender class.
So when he took on another hard punching Colombian in Edison Miranda on the undercard of Taylor’s match up with the smaller Cory Spinks, consensus was that his undefeated record would be snapped.
In an all action display, Pavlik upset the critics by winning every round and dropping Miranda twice in the sixth round before a five punch combination finished him off in the seventh. The win upstaged the main-event and boosted calls for him to be granted his mandatory title shot quickly.
“Kelly Pavlik is custom made,” said Taylor’s trainer Emanuel Steward prior to their September 2007 encounter. “Jermain has the greater speed, better natural conditioning and has fought a higher level of competition.”
When Taylor dropped Pavlik in the second stanza, it appeared that Steward’s words would prove to be spot on but, despite being on shaky legs, Pavlik got through and roared back to knockout the champion in the seventh round. A star was born.
Since then the Youngstown hero has consolidated his victory over Taylor by winning their rematch over 12 tough rounds; Pavlik also blasted overmatched WBO mandatory challenger Gary Lockett in three one-sided rounds.
He is now preparing to take on Bernard Hopkins later in year and despite B-Hop’s age and negative style, any fight that involves the “Ghost” is destined to be an engrossing affair.
.
Article By
Andrew Wake
The men who electrify the sweet science
Three weekends back the boxing world was given the pleasure of watching Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto engage in a bloody and thrilling battle that will be talked about by fans and writers a like for many years to come.
The fight for the WBA welterweight title came at just the right time as the two preceding weekends had been far from electrifying. Wladimir Klitschko had retained his heavyweight titles by stopping Tony “Not much of a Tiger” Thompson in the eleventh of what, until that point, had been a disappointing affair. Then a week later Klitschko’s heir apparent Alexander Povetkin had defeated another mediocre American in Taurus Sykes with a punch that was more brushing than bruising.
So the Cotto-Mrgarito fight, coupled with last week's decent scrap between fellow welterweights Zab Judah and Joshua Clottey, has put any thoughts of those tedious heavyweight fights to bed and re-stimulated our fistic mojos, but for me the fights also provoked another thought: Who actually are the most exciting boxers out there?
Michael Katsidis
Aussie ****er Katsidis didn’t earn his “New Gatti” tag by standing at range and pawing with jab. Like the thrill-a-minute Canadian, Katsidis is a face-first, blood and guts battler who believes that sometimes (well, a lot of times actually) you have to take one on the chin to land one.
When I first heard of Katsidis he had 19 knockouts from 21 victories, but had yet to face anyone of note; I merely put him down as another Australian who had padded his ledger with routine wins over blown up featherweights and no hopers. Suffice to say I expected him to crumble when he fought his first real test against Britain’s Graham Earl.
The bout, for the interim WBO lightweight crown, was a war from the opening bell and Katsidis floored Earl twice in the final 30 seconds of the opening round. The barrage of punches continued in the second round and once more the Englishman found himself on the canvas.
So in command was Katsidis that Earl’s corner threw the towel in but realising that the fight was far from over referee Mickey Vann picked it up and threw it back out of the ring. It was an odd thing for a referee to do but it proved to be the right thing as Earl came firing back with a right-hand and Katsidis’ knees buckled.
The fourth session was among the candidates for round of the year as Katsidis poured forward and land punishing shot after shot on his foe’s jaw but Earl continued to drink from the well of resolve and fired back some solid hooks of his own.
The action continued in the fifth but by now you could really see the effects that Katsidis’ hard punching had taken out of Earl and when the round ended, trainer Johnny Eames pulled him. It had been a barnstormer and announced the Queenslander’s presence on the world scene.
The Aussie ****er didn’t disappoint on his American debut either, coming through a torrid and bloody battle with Czar Amonsot of the Philippines.
Katsidis knocked Amonsot down in the second and tenth stanzas but was forced to withstand some of the Filipino’s heavy artillery and finished up with severe bruising and cuts around his eyes. Amonsot, unfortunately, faired far worse as it was later discovered that he suffered bleeding on his brain and is unlikely to ever fight again.
Since then, Katsidis has lost his undefeated record to Joel Casamayor, but it was another thrilling encounter as the Aussie twice got up from the canvas to floor the Cuban great in the sixth before eventually being stopped in the tenth round.
As Arturo Gatti proved throughout his career, you don’t have to be very polished or unbeatable fighter to be an exciting one and I’m sure that Katsidis will provide us with plenty more thrills in the future.
Edwin Valero
The hard hitting Venezuelan may not have a long list of top level fistic practitioners on his resume but any fighter who has knocked out every man he has ever faced has to be considered exciting.
The super featherweight Valero, 26, burst onto the scene in 2002 and embarked on a run the saw him blast his first 18 opponents in the opening round -- a world record until broken recently by US middleweight Tyrone Brunson. However, notoriety did not come his way as the results of MRI scan taken in 2004 had uncovered brain irregularities caused by a motorcycle accident three years earlier and he was banned from competing in boxing’s most media versed market, America.
Instead, Valero fought out of his base in Tokyo, Japan and continued to power punch his way to a world title shot.
That shot was granted by the WBA and at the Figali Convention Center in Panama City in August, 2006; Valero stopped hometown fighter Vicente Mosquera in the tenth round.
Going into the clash many had questioned how a raw but thrilling southpaw like Valero could fair against a man with a record of 24-1 after steamrolling a long line of proverbial tin cans; and when he was dropped in the third round it seemed that maybe the man nicknamed “Dinamita” might have been found out but he clambered back to his feet, regained his composure, and hit his opponent to the head and body with such force that eventually the Panamanian’s corner conceded defeat.
Since then Valero has made four defences of his crown, stopping each adversary, and has set his sights on a showdown with pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao.
There are still a lot of questions surrounding Valero’s ability as he throws wide hooks and appears open for a beating from a competent counter-puncher but while he keeps knocking ‘em over, the interest in him will continue.
Also, he has recently relocated to Las Vegas and acquired a license to fight in Texas so that duel with the Pac-man may not be far away. It could be the fight of the decade but with the Filipino idol looking at fights with the likes of Ricky Hatton and Nate Campbell, it’s a clash we may have to wait some time for.
Kelly Pavlik
A skinny boy who hits like he has horseshoes in his gloves! What’s not to love?
But it’s not just the Youngstown native’s devastating punching power and his willingness to fight anyone at any time that makes him such a breath of fresh air. The 26 year old is one of the most down to earth pugs currently in the game and never criticises any opponent or their credentials – he has his trainer Jack Loew to do that.
Despite still being young and fresh, Kelly has been around for over eight years now, having made his pro debut with a third round knockout of unheralded Eric Benito Tzand in June 2000.
Pavlik became a regular feature on the undercards of major bouts, fighting on the b-side of De La Hoya-Hopkins and the third Barrera-Morales clash among others, but didn’t get what could be called a stern test until he defeated Colombian powerhouse Fulgencio Zuniga for the vacant NABF middleweight title.
Pavlik made a decent start to the fight, working his jab and right cross to good effect but failed to get out of the way of an arching left hook and found himself on the canvas. More stunned than hurt, Pavlik was bouncing on his feet within seconds and, after closing the opening session comfortably enough, he came back to take control of the bout before the Colombian’s corner pulled their man out at the end of the ninth.
“The Ghost”, as he is nicknamed, made his major network breakthrough in early 2007 when he took on Jose Luis Zertuche, a 2000 Mexican Olympian, on HBO. Zertuche did land his far share of solid shots but Pavlik kept on attacking and eventually halted his man in the eighth round.
This victory gave Pavlik the number one challenger rating with the WBC and rumblings about a potential match up with undisputed middleweight king Jermain Taylor began to be uttered by boxing journalists, but still the general feeling was that that the affable Ohio man would be found wanting when he stepped into legitimate contender class.
So when he took on another hard punching Colombian in Edison Miranda on the undercard of Taylor’s match up with the smaller Cory Spinks, consensus was that his undefeated record would be snapped.
In an all action display, Pavlik upset the critics by winning every round and dropping Miranda twice in the sixth round before a five punch combination finished him off in the seventh. The win upstaged the main-event and boosted calls for him to be granted his mandatory title shot quickly.
“Kelly Pavlik is custom made,” said Taylor’s trainer Emanuel Steward prior to their September 2007 encounter. “Jermain has the greater speed, better natural conditioning and has fought a higher level of competition.”
When Taylor dropped Pavlik in the second stanza, it appeared that Steward’s words would prove to be spot on but, despite being on shaky legs, Pavlik got through and roared back to knockout the champion in the seventh round. A star was born.
Since then the Youngstown hero has consolidated his victory over Taylor by winning their rematch over 12 tough rounds; Pavlik also blasted overmatched WBO mandatory challenger Gary Lockett in three one-sided rounds.
He is now preparing to take on Bernard Hopkins later in year and despite B-Hop’s age and negative style, any fight that involves the “Ghost” is destined to be an engrossing affair.
.
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