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Good weekend of fights on HBO. Here's my take on the two fights we saw.
Postol vs Aydin
I was very impressed with Postol's boxing and conditioning. To have that level of work rate that late in the fight was impressive. He throws really nice combinations, has a great jab and of course his length and height are going to be a serious problem for anyone in that weight class.
If I had to critique one thing, it was that he doesn't move his head much and they pointed that out. He will have trouble with pressure fighters with power who can get on the inside, because he himself isn't a big puncher so he's going to have to have better head movement and foot movement in the future. He's young though and that can be done.
Aydin was really frustrated, he was just looking for the one shot. I thought he made a tactical mistake in just looking for that left hook up top, I thought he should have thrown it underneath to the body and when he did later in the fight he hurt Postol. Too little too late though.
Marquez vs Alvarado
IMO Alvarado's trainer made a huge mistake in wanting to box with JMM early in that fight. I understand JMM is 40 but he's a master boxer and there was no way Alvarado was going to stand on the outside and win that battle. He should have gone forward from the beginning, let it all hang out and rolled the dice on hurting the smaller man.
Instead he gave away the first 6-7 rounds, found himself in a hole, then the trainer was telling him to come forward. He did get a knock down but you could see he was hesitant to throw because of the accuracy of JMM. I also hate when the announcers say that Alvarado wasn't doing this or that. It wasn't what Alvarado wasn't doing, as much as it was what JMM was doing.
When you face a master counter puncher like JMM, Mayweather or Hopkins, you see the work rate of the other fighter slow down. This is not a coincidence. It happens with these specific fighters because when you miss, they make you pay. So you become hesitant to throw like you normally would. I was getting so sick of Max Kellerman mentioning that Alvarado was scared to throw because of the Provodnikov fight....Max Kellerman needs to put the gloves on and box because he can say some really idiotic things.
As far as the PED's talk, I will say one thing and leave it at this. There is a trend among late 30's, early 40's fighters that are finding the "fountain of youth" in their careers. I don't have proof of what is going on, but if something is, it's not limited to JMM. You would have to throw JMM, Pac, Mosely and a whole bunch of other guys in there if you want to make accusations.
Saying that, there's no amount of drugs that can make you a more skilled boxer and JMM is truly a master. 57% accuracy, reeling off 4,5,6,7 punch combos all landing on the button. I know Alvarado is there to be hit, but for a 40 year old who is a career light weight dominating a Jr Welter in his prime, is beyond impressive.
The size difference at the weigh in was astonishing. Alvarado was towering over JMM and his mass was just that of a different weight class. Yet JMM took him to school from round 1 and I thought could have made it a boring fight by just boxing his ears off but chose to engage for the crowd. Not only is JMM a master at what he does, he understands that boxing is also entertainment and made it a very exciting fight.
Marquez is one of the greatest to ever come of out Mexico and that's saying a lot for a country with the history of boxing Mexico has. Some have said he's better that Chavez Sr, I don't think so. Chavez Sr was on another level and we may never see another one like that ever. Marquez is great though and is climbing the ranks of the greats from Mexico. His technique is really unmatched in boxing and if you want to learn how to throw combo's, I suggest watching Marquez videos.
Postol vs Aydin
I was very impressed with Postol's boxing and conditioning. To have that level of work rate that late in the fight was impressive. He throws really nice combinations, has a great jab and of course his length and height are going to be a serious problem for anyone in that weight class.
If I had to critique one thing, it was that he doesn't move his head much and they pointed that out. He will have trouble with pressure fighters with power who can get on the inside, because he himself isn't a big puncher so he's going to have to have better head movement and foot movement in the future. He's young though and that can be done.
Aydin was really frustrated, he was just looking for the one shot. I thought he made a tactical mistake in just looking for that left hook up top, I thought he should have thrown it underneath to the body and when he did later in the fight he hurt Postol. Too little too late though.
Marquez vs Alvarado
IMO Alvarado's trainer made a huge mistake in wanting to box with JMM early in that fight. I understand JMM is 40 but he's a master boxer and there was no way Alvarado was going to stand on the outside and win that battle. He should have gone forward from the beginning, let it all hang out and rolled the dice on hurting the smaller man.
Instead he gave away the first 6-7 rounds, found himself in a hole, then the trainer was telling him to come forward. He did get a knock down but you could see he was hesitant to throw because of the accuracy of JMM. I also hate when the announcers say that Alvarado wasn't doing this or that. It wasn't what Alvarado wasn't doing, as much as it was what JMM was doing.
When you face a master counter puncher like JMM, Mayweather or Hopkins, you see the work rate of the other fighter slow down. This is not a coincidence. It happens with these specific fighters because when you miss, they make you pay. So you become hesitant to throw like you normally would. I was getting so sick of Max Kellerman mentioning that Alvarado was scared to throw because of the Provodnikov fight....Max Kellerman needs to put the gloves on and box because he can say some really idiotic things.
As far as the PED's talk, I will say one thing and leave it at this. There is a trend among late 30's, early 40's fighters that are finding the "fountain of youth" in their careers. I don't have proof of what is going on, but if something is, it's not limited to JMM. You would have to throw JMM, Pac, Mosely and a whole bunch of other guys in there if you want to make accusations.
Saying that, there's no amount of drugs that can make you a more skilled boxer and JMM is truly a master. 57% accuracy, reeling off 4,5,6,7 punch combos all landing on the button. I know Alvarado is there to be hit, but for a 40 year old who is a career light weight dominating a Jr Welter in his prime, is beyond impressive.
The size difference at the weigh in was astonishing. Alvarado was towering over JMM and his mass was just that of a different weight class. Yet JMM took him to school from round 1 and I thought could have made it a boring fight by just boxing his ears off but chose to engage for the crowd. Not only is JMM a master at what he does, he understands that boxing is also entertainment and made it a very exciting fight.
Marquez is one of the greatest to ever come of out Mexico and that's saying a lot for a country with the history of boxing Mexico has. Some have said he's better that Chavez Sr, I don't think so. Chavez Sr was on another level and we may never see another one like that ever. Marquez is great though and is climbing the ranks of the greats from Mexico. His technique is really unmatched in boxing and if you want to learn how to throw combo's, I suggest watching Marquez videos.
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