The Ward of Oakland, Andre vs Sullivan Barrera Tonite

The Ward of Oakland and self proclaimed Son of God managed make it to the weigh in of his scheduled bout against Sullivan Barrera without injury, but can he make it to the scratch line and beat a legit lightheavyweight tonite at the Oracle on Oakland? 

Nobody really knows since Andre Ward tried his damnedest to wriggle out of this fight, denying the match repeatedly over twitter in spite of Barrera and his manager possessing the contract for the fight signed, sealed, and delivered. Ward may look like he lost his way in boxing, but that didn’t prevent the bookies from making him a huge favorite, so what are they seeing?

Ward: Ain’t fighting you Buddy….Sullivan: Beware. I’ll be there.

The venue, Oakland, always Oakland these days, of course. Ward has all the advantages of hand picked refs and judges ready to mug Barrera who is a relatively unproven fighter thus far, so nobody wants to go against such a blatant canned hunt setup for Ward. My guess is his promoter, Roc Nation, will have to dynamite him out of Oakland into a big venue and big fight to recoup losses since Ward’s signing, this representing the first step towards that goal.

Barrera does look overmatched on paper and he’s Cuban, so two strikes against him before the first bell sounds, but make no mistake, this guy has excellent amateur credentials and has been making a solid transition into the pro style unlike most Cubans with 6 straight knockouts. In short, he ain’t a runner, so cutting to the chase, he’s a whole lot hungrier fighter than the fainthearted Ward who noted he’s become a shoe collector in the manner of the infamous Imelda Marcos. Barrera is much more dangerous than that. He happens to hold ama wins over Chad Dawson, Beibut Shumenov, and wants to knock Ward out of his shoes. His problem being that he’ll have to defend against a blizzard of head butts, getting hit on the break, low blows, elbows, all delivered without penalty as the ref pulls him off Ward anytime he gets on top of him.

I get the feeling Barrera knows it’s an uphill battle and will be ready for the dirty stuff that most Cubans already know about. This is a non title fight. Bet on the outcome at your own risk.

Ward of Oakland vs Son of Cuba

 

A Failure to Fight–Rematch of Hopkins vs Dawson

Or alternately entitled, When Bad Chad Shrugged, Part II.

Officially the “event” is scheduled Saturday, April 28th at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Maybe a fight will break out this time, but the sad fact is that not many boxing fans wanted to see the original farce and fewer still likely to care about a rematch of what never was.

I predicted Dawson wouldn’t be getting any favors in the leadup article to the original, and sure enough the California commish overruled the referee decision of a 2nd round TKO of Hopkins to a NC, No Contest. The WBC ruled it a TD2, a Technical Draw, so Hopkins retained his title and million dollar purse and gets to reprise another day of moaning, crying, and rolling on the ring canvas for more millionaire pay.

Chad Dawson is largely blameless in the travesty save signing on to fight the geezer legend who more and more often doesn’t fancy a good fight anymore when he made his name against Tito Trinidad and Kelly Pavlik. All Dawson did was shrug his shoulders in an attempt to release himself from the clawing death grip Hopkins had placed him in after coming in hard with a UFC flying knee for his offense.

Hopkins is definitely NOT in the old school vein of his “role model,” Archie Moore, who swept the floor of his era with relevant heavyweight contenders in between defending his lightheavy title for a storied decade as one of the most revered P4P fighters in history. Moore was putting big guys on the canvas with their lights turned out, not moaning to the ref who could’ve cared less in an era where men were fighters and not wearing silly little Halloween fright masks into the ring like schoolboys looking for candy handouts.

You can read about the stark contrast between Archie Moore old school tough and skilled against the modern softie, Bernard Hopkins:

https://roberto00.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/listen-up-without-peer-the-one-the-only-archie-moore/

Tears for Punches

I’m generally not one to disparage a fighter for mere losses or one off poor performances, but Bernard Hopkins has been milking the boxing world for a while now. Dawson has to play along in the WBC fun and games if he is ever to return to his formerP4P status that he lost with the dubious stoppage by the Montreal ref on a minor cut in the Pascal fight.

Training with contraptions

What a 6-3 highly skilled boxer Dawson is doing ducking below his waist to avoid an old guy with no teeth in his mouth or punches in his mitts is something he and his trainer Ice John Scully will have to address if they ever hope to make Dawson the household name his skills and talents deserve.

You’ve been forewarned, so watch at your peril.

Ice John & Bad Chad Reunite for The Execution(er)

 Bad Chad Dawson has rolled the dice in midstream to replace his new trainer, Emanuel Steward with his old trainer, Ice John Scully, who first got Dawson up to speed early in his career.The splits seem to have been amicable, and perhaps so since there’s been nary a squeak out of Steward. Dawson is still open enough to reestablish training with Scully weeks before his challenge for his old WBC strap now held by Bernard Hopkins.

Ice John at Play

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scully is a well respected former lightheavy contender with the experience to formulate a plan to dethrone Hopkins. The opportunity is surely his biggest moment as a trainer and it is certainly a critical juncture fight Dawson needs to win to stake his claims to the lions share of future big fights.

Welcome to Ice John’s very own website and register your thoughts on the fight here:

http://icemanjohnscully.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6279

Bernard Hopkins has been on a hot roll of late after a mysterious resurgence against Jean Pascal. Accusations flew that Hopkins was on Human Growth Hormone, HGH, which didn’t prevent him from being knocked down hard twice by the feather fisted Pascal.

Had Hopkins been fighting with as much vim and vigor as he showed against Pascal, his record would certainly be better, but Chad Dawson is a completely different fighter than Jean Pascal and who knows what version of Hopkins will show up at age 46? 

When He Was King

Hopkins’ last knockout was another decade ago when he still had hair, but he was suspicously fragile against Calzaghe and Jones and may be ripe for the big KO. Thing is that Dawson is something of a lazy boxer, preferring to sit back and let his natural talent do all the work and then take the decision, not a KO artist. It did seem like he had Pascal ready to go when the headbutt stopped their bout, so maybe there’s some hidden knockout potential in him waiting to be released.

Of the Ring ranked southpaws Hopkins faced recently, he was hard pressed against Winky Wright who was brought in as a guest trainer for Dawson for this fight.Then Hopkins looked for all intents to be quitting in the ring against the talented Joe Calzaghe as Hopkins attempted to stop the fight with the worst canvas acting job seen in a boxing ring since Sonny Liston hit the deck against Muhammad Ali.

Not sure what kind of silk stockings have been passed around at Golden Boy these days with Hopkins rolling around on the canvas and

Shane Mosley and Victor Ortiz wanting to hug and kiss Floyd Mayweather instead of fight him, but Dawson should be very suspicious of being suckered into this seedy web and concentrate on taking the fight out of the judges and the ref’s hands. He won’t be getting any favors in this fight, but what he will get is a serious case of looking bad if he can’t concentrate on boxing because that’s the secret to Hopkins’ longevity.

Hopkins doesn’t want a fair fight, he wants to frustrate by fouling and grappling in between running around the ring and then cop an academy award decision. He knows Dawson is a superior boxer at range, so Hopkins will likely be rushing him much like he did Pascal which made for an ugly fight. Hopkins is legendary for what he calls Philly style head butts that many modern fighters just can’t handle.

I don’t recall Dawson ever having to fight inside except the first Johnson fight which many thought he lost, but if he can’t, he’s got to have some good foot movement to maintain his best fighting distance. His footwork and balance have always been excellent, but this is a different fight than he’s used to.

The undercard is compelling with Antonio DeMarco going against former champ Jorge Linares for Gary Bradley’s old WBC strap. New hotshot Danny Garcia goes against ex champ Kendall Holt in an IBF eliminator and Pauli Malignaggi is staying busy as he awaits his next title shot.

Not a bad night to be at the fights if Hopkins shows up to fight and can pull out his old Kelly Pavlik gameplan. We’ll see soon enough who wants it and who’s smart enough to take it.

The Polish Heavyweight Challenge–Tomasz Adamek vs Vitali Klitschko

There are reports out of boxrec of another rumor putting off the heavyweight challenge by Tomasz Adamek to Vitali Klitschko‘s WBC title.

http://news.boxrec.com/news/2011/snips-and-snipes-10-august-2011

The fight was originally mooted for March 8 in Madison Square Garden in tribute to the 40th anniversary of Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier I, but yes, Virginia, there is a Grinch who stole Christmas. WBC El Presidente for Life Jose Suliman queered that celebratory tribute, instead forcing the Cuban dancing bear, Odlanier Solis to fight Vitali as the enforced mandatory in a farce of a fight.

Adamek and Vitali both operate on a much higher plane than any boxing org and certainly deserve better treatment, so lets hope the Ukrainian political situation stabilizes so the fight can come off as scheduled Saturday, September 10th.

Lots of firsts, a historic Polish heavyweight challenge for the WBC belt held by the great Ukrainian champion at Stadion Miejski, Wroclaw, Poland.

Goral

While Vitali will be the big favorite, “Goral” has proven to be a P4P quality boxer through an outstanding career that has seen him as a ranked fighter since 2005. That’s six years of excellence in the top 3 divisions in boxing.

But Adamek is more than a top boxer, he’s a top fighter who adjusts to any situation as well as the best fighters in history, and his 44-1, 28 KO record ain’t too shabby neither. Only the single decision loss to Ring P4Per Chad Dawson sullies the perfect record, and he closed that fight strong with a hard knock down, so Adamek has some serious fighter to him.

He’s primarily a offensive fighter, but like Manny Pacquiao he picked up a lot of technique and nuance as he aged and is now at the top of grand career. This is the chance he’s prepared his whole professional life for and he won’t be as easily dismissed as Vitali’s previous foes were.

The Fight

Vitali the Elder now has a better sense of his own history than when he first turned pro and has targeted Adamek as the best he can fight, a perfect end to a stellar career perhaps. Adamek has to take the fight to Vitali to keep from being overwhelmed on volume and aggression, so his footwork and combinations will go directly against Vitali’s great offensive onslaught in a fight that could produce the dramatic ebbs and flows that great fights have.

Let’s hope it comes off without a hitch, otherwise some great heavyweight history will be lost, so update to follow.

August 24th update:

Good news is Vitali has released a sparring tape and talked about his upcoming bout with Adamek, so the fight looks like a go.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/klitschko-predicts-ko-93480#more-93480

FIGHT DAY UPDATE:

Incredibly Vitali is the big favorite over Adamek who is by far the best fighter in the division not named Klitschko.

Odds aren’t fully reflective of the fighter’s abilities since large betting swings can make odds disappear or spike as the fight nears when the betting base backs one fighter more heavily as the fight day approaches. Doubtless that’s why the Wlad/Haye bout had near even odds. Here’s the Fightwriter’s odds which are reflective of the oddsmakers at large.

http://www.fightwriter.com/vitali-klitschko-vs-tomasz-adamek

Klitschko -180; Haye +140

Over 9.5 +140; under 9.5 -180

Klitschko -650; Adamek +400

Over 10.5 +110; under 10.5 -125

 

They weighed in with Vitali being unusually light at 243 lbs to Adamek who is 216 lbs. Looks like Vitali trained down for speed and stamina and Adamek is perfect for him. Look for these guys to mark up come mid rounds.

 

If Adamek was ever knocked down in a fight, I don’t recall it, and technically Vitali has never been down though it’s arguable that Corrie Sanders knocked him down early in their fight years back that was ruled a slip. I look for a high action bout conducted like a chess match as both look for their spots to make the points while exploring for weakness which could be cuts.

 

Well done to the organizers and fighters that made this big challenge happen.

Dr. Ironfist vs Goral

 

   

Antonio Tarver in Whacky Danny Green World

To hear Danny Green talk about it, his recent bout with appendicitus depleted him physically enough to scare in him into considering retirement. All that changed when he announced that Antonio Tarver would be the next challenger for his IBO Cruiserweight belt he holds.

Green vs Tarver

The bout takes place in Green’s comfortable environs of the Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia where he is a big star. Antonio Tarver is no slouch in filling the villain role as challenger, having a long slog up the chain of amateur and professional ranks while fighting many top contenders and champs to hard won acclaim, but he was last seen putting forth a tubby effort against fringe heavyweight contender Nagy Aguilera, not a recipe for victory against Green who take pride in shaping into top condition for his fights.

Green is something of a curiousity, having a mecurical personality that led to a disqualification against Marcos Beyer and later a bizarre retirement after beating the towering Drew Stipes for the WBA lightheavy belt. yet staging a very active comeback in 2009 before the appendecitus knocked him down for a long count.

If Green recovers his form, it should be back to staging the best boxing of his career at the belated age of 38. If he has not sufficently recovered, Tarver makes for a long shaky night at the office.

Antonio Tarver is no stranger to belated boxing, having a spotty career until his signature highlight for the ages, a booming one punch knockout over Roy Jones. Tarver was 35 yrs old for that bout and been a name ever since in spite of continuing his spotty boxing that currently sees him with a 28-6, 19 KO record, not the sort of shining record expected for a well regarded champion.

A lifelong lightheavyweight, Tarver looked in shape and aggressively on the hunt in his last two bouts in the division against Chad Dawson, but he was slow and his overall ring activity is slowing as well, so the question for the 42 year old Magic Man is, “Does he have anymore?”

The Green Machine has become a sharp operator and possesses a potent right hand to easily match the southpaw Tarver’s best weapon his left hand. In his last outing he took on a prime aged big strong undefeated contender, BJ Flores, and fought a near perfect fight to out hustle and out maneuver him. I favor this version of Green.

Tarver’s forte has always been the rematches where he avenged his losses, but the magic was gone when he rematched Dawson. He has always been vulnerable to being outboxed and he will be giving up a considerable advantage to Green by fighting in Australia. Since neither fighter has ever been stopped before, a Green decision seems almost a forgone conclusion.

I would never completely write off a noted champion like Tarver who will likely be near even odds to win.

GreenWorld can get pretty whacky at times though, and don’t forget, they’ll be fighting upside down. Will he get sucked into The Green Machine topsy turvy parallel boxing world to be  dressed up, waxed, and spit out as Green’s newest notch for his gunbelt?

Those of us in the Great North will just have to tune in Wednesday, July 20th to find out what happens at that ungodly time of the morning.

 

A Passing of the Torch, Dawson vs Pascal

A rare fight between Ring’s divisional #1 and #2 takes place this Saturday which has all the markings of the traditional passing of the torch of one generation to the next generation on several different levels, not the least being the venue in Montreal, Canada.

The Torch

Bad Chad Dawson squares off against local favorite, Jean Pascal for a chance to pick up his old WBC belt.

Dawson won his first title with an excellent performance in lifting Tomasz Adamek’s WBC crown off him 3 years ago, withstanding the highly regarded Adamek’s trademark knockdown and late surge in Dawson’s signature fight. He has since swept the longtime grizzled veterans of the division, Glencoffe Johnson and Antonio Tarver in a classic series of fights where he also picked up the IBF and IBO titles for those who keep a bauble count.

Bad Chad Dawson

Dawson has done everything that has been asked of him within reason, yet remains flying under mainstream America’s radar, thus needing to go into Montreal’s lion’s den to lift his old WBC belt off Pascal in a sign of the times for American boxers.

The winner will also pick up Ring Magazine’s lightheavy belt, vacant since Joe Calzaghe retired a few years back.

Jean Pascal picked up Dawson’s old WBC belt last year in a rough tough fight against Adrian Diaconu and has since defended it twice, hanging on with a separated shoulder in the even tougher rematch against Diaconu in his last outing. The Dawson fight represents a comeback from shoulder surgery and rehabilitation, 8 months of ring rust which could perhaps be crucial to the outcome of the fight.

They are otherwise fairly equally matched in ages, Dawson 28 yrs to Pascal’s 27 yrs, and bouts with Dawson being a perfect 29-0, 17 KO, 182 rounds to Pascal’s 25-1, 15 KO and 171 rounds.

Dawson, however, has been at the top longer with more quality rounds against ranked contenders and champs than has Pascal. Dawson is a fundamentally solid boxer/puncher out of the southpaw stance with good height and speed, and if that weren’t enough advantage, former lightheavy champ and now trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad has been directing his training.

Jean Pascal

Pascal has to overcome his shoulder surgery and ring rust, but his advantages will be some speed of hand and foot, his hometown, and an unorthodox somewhat freewheeling style that makes fighting him difficult. Dawson will be the best boxer and best fighter he will have faced by a long shot, so Pascal will have to show more discipline and and a better gameplan than he has shown in past efforts.

Should be an interesting clash of styles with the flashy, emotional Haitian transplant Pascal picking up plenty of energy from the Montreal crowd who really get behind their fighters which may well draw out the safety conscious Dawson into some dramatic exchanges with some unseemly brawling that fight crowds love to see in their warriors.

Finally, the new Ring champ will be a young tiger for the first time in ages.

I predict a wide Dawson unanimous decision, but if Pascal has something in reserve he has yet to show in his career, he could sneak in with a dramatic hometown decision with a best effort.

Should be a good’un and could be the start of a much needed series, so there you have it.

Who wants it?