There was no controversy the second time around. In the first fight George Groves took an early lead. He was the faster more accurate fighter, and he was that in the second fight too. Carl Froch is a tough fighter. In the first fight he'd go down in the opening round. Groves made Froch look old and slow in the first fight. I had it 5 to 1 Groves at the half way point, and the opening round was a 10-8 round. In round 7 and 8 the two fighters mixed it up with a couple of hard to score rounds. It was the ninth round stoppage of Groves that started the controversy. Froch caught Groves with a solid shot and had him in trouble. Could Groves have weathered the storm? The first fight demanded a rematch.
FIGHT ONE
FROCH vs GROVES 2
When two fighters go into a fight believing they're the best it's going to be good. George Groves refused to give credit to a guy he out boxed. Styles make fights and Groves has a style that's hard for Froch to deal with. Every time he opened up on Groves he got countered, and when that wasn't happening Groves was beating Froch to the punch. Groves is in and out with his hands low and his head moving.
Just as he was in the first fight Froch was behind at the half way point. I again had the fight 5-1 Groves after six rounds. This may sound familiar, but the 7th round was close, and until Froch caught Groves the 8th was as well. Groves doesn't have the best defensive style one will ever see. A fighter that uses that slick style of offense has to have incredible reflexes and head movement. Groves moved his head decently in the first half of both fights, but once he gets a little fatigued his defense is the first thing to go. It's shabby at best to begin with. At the same point in both fights Froch was able to get him, and both times he'd been losing before catching him. If these two fought a third time Froch would catch him between rounds 7-10.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Andre Ward says he'd be willing to fight George Groves on his home turf. After the knockout loss he's probably not even going to get the fight with Ward. If Carl Froch is really trying to cash out of boxing then he probably won't fight Ward again. Chavez could bring the same kind of money with less risk.
Nobody wants to fact Gannady Golovkin. I'd be shocked if either Groves or Froch decided to take on GGG. Andre Ward says he'd fight Golovkin, but I'm not so sure he really wants to do it. I think Triple G might be the most feared boxer in the division, despite the fact that most fans see Ward as the most pure boxer.
The winner of the Martinez vs Cotto fight is going to gain momentum. There are some great fights to be made from 160 to 168.
Boxing fans everywhere are calling for the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight. It might have cooled down a bit when Marquez caught Manny with a shot he never saw coming. The ESPN welterweight ranking has Floyd at #1 and Manny at #2, so why not get 1 and 2 in the ring once and for all. Seeing the fact that Floyd didn't respond well to volume punching against Maidana, the fans believe that Manny would be able to really get him. Pacquiao is no doubt a faster puncher than Maidana, but it wasn't just the volume or the speed that got to Floyd. Maidana hits harder than Pacquiao and that made a difference in that fight. I think Manny might be the only fighter who could outpoint Floyd, but to really beat Mayweather you've got to knock him out. The judges like Mayweather. I think he owes Maidana a rematch, but like every other boxing fan I'd love to see him fight Pac-Man.
Honestly I don't think the fans want this one either. Manny is the better fighter and unless he got caught again he'd just outpoint Marquez. These two careers are coming to an end. They both should be aiming for a Mayweather fight.
I don't think Miguel Cotto is what he once was. There's no evidence that Martinez is slowing down. It doesn't matter which side made the catch-weight happen. Sergio Martinez is going to beat Cotto for as long as he can last.
I don't think that Mayweather wants to fight him again. He beat the hell out of Floyd in ways that hadn't been done before. Some boxing fans are saying he cheated, but I think he was just fighting as rough as possible. Either way Mayweather didn't like the kind of action he was getting.
I like Dana White. He's taken the UFC in directions that I think boxing needs to go. White is a straight shooter who calls it like he sees it. He could be right, he did say street fight, and if she got him into a submission hold (Arm Bar) anything would be possible. If Floyd was able to keep it upright she'd have no chance of beating him.
I think everyone wants to see Pacquiao get a shot at Mayweather. If Floyd doesn't want to fight Maidana again then the chance is there. He'll have to do something to save a little face for not giving Maidana a deserved rematch. If he's unable to get the Mayweather fight then a fight with Provodnikov would be perfect. If he could beat a solid up and coming fighter like Provodnikov it would be as big as Floyd's win over Canelo.
Juan Manuel Marquez beat Manny Pacquiao by knocking him out cold. Since then little has gone his way and he needs a win over Alvarado in the worst kind of way. Mike Alvarado has had nothing go his way since his win over Brandon Rios. These two fighters are fighting to remain relevant. If Marquez wins the fight he'll be looking for the 5th fight with Pacquiao, and if Alvarado wins he'll likely be looking to face Pac-Man too.
It's my opinion that neither of these fighters will be a major player in the welterweight landscape. The winner will temporarily have some solid ground to stand on, but realistically neither of these two have a serious title shot left in them. This should be a real good fight going by the old adage that styles make fights. There is still a level of fighter above both of these two guys and I don't think either one can beat the best fighters.
Things got a little heated at the press conference, and Stiverne even told Goosen he'd give him his purse if he lost. He seemed very determined to do the same thing to Arreola that he did last time. Stiverne beat the hell out of Arreola in their first fight. If he's able to destroy Arreola convincingly as he did before, then perhaps Arreola should hang it up. The first fight was very one sided, and there's no reason to think the second one will be any different.
Prediction - I believe that Siverne will beat Arreola again. However, this time I think he's going to stop him. Chris Arreola rarely comes into a fight in good shape. In the first fight Arreola hit Stiverne with some hard solid shots, but only one time did they seem to hurt him. I don't think he has what it takes to change the end result. Stiverne by TKO in round 8.
Bryant Jennings is one of the top heavyweight prospects right now. Later this month he'll be fighting unbeaten Mike Perez on HBO. I still believe that Deonte Wilder is the most exciting prospect, but the winner of the fight later this month closes the ground drastically.
The division is still ruled by WladimirKlitschko. Make no mistake about that. There is some very interesting up and coming talent and a group of guys like Tyson Fury already making the division interesting. If boxing is really better when the heavyweight division is doing good then it's on the way back. Personally I don't think there's been anything wrong with it. People just don't like the way the Klitschko brothers have dominated the division. Wladimir has been every bit as dominate as Floyd Mayweather, but for some reason it's boring when Klitschko does it.
If I was Floyd's dad I wouldn't want him to fight Maidana again either. The only thing Maidana did was beat the hell out of him in a way that had not been previously done. Daddy is afraid that Maidana would wreck his son's undefeated record. It's my opinion that Maidana should be the one giving the rematch, but either way they both seemed to want to do it again after the fight last Saturday night, so why not stick to it and do it again?
There are a lot of fans out there who want to see Mayweather fight Amir Khan next. They believe that Khan has the hand speed to give Mayweather a true fight. I thought that Maidana gave him a great fight and just couldn't beat the score cards. I've heard people say Cotto beat him up a little. He busted Floyd's nose, and then took a beating for 10 rounds. Maidana beat him up periodically throughout the fight. I think Maidana deserves another fight, and despite Mayweather saying it'll be easier next time, I don't believe it will be.
Mayweather didn't look ready before the fight. I'd said to those watching it with me that he looked worried and afraid. I'd also said before the fight that he did this to avenge the beating that Broner took. He wanted to step up and show baby brother how it suppose to be done. All he really did is prove that Maidana is as good as everyone thought he was, that the fight with Broner was no fluke, and that Maidana deserves a rematch.
I didn't think a fight with Khan would really be necessary, but after watching Amir fight on the under card of the Mayweather-Maidana fight I think it could be interesting. Khan has the hand speed to test Floyd, but after that there is nothing he does that is better than Mayweather. I know Khan wants to fight Floyd, but who doesn't? Every fighter wants the exposure of fighting a legend. I want to see Amir Khan fight Danny Garcia again, I want Floyd to rematch Maidana, and then the winners of those two fights get it on.
If Mayweather could finish his career taking this route he very well be the best fighter of all time. I don't think he could take this string of fights and remain unbeaten. Floyd has beat some of the best fighters in his era, but he hasn't always taken them on while they were still relevant. Still he's been able to add impressive names to his resume. If he took on the winner of Thurman and Porter he'd be taking on a great fighter on the way up. It's fights like that one that look better in the end.
I really don't like Adrian Broner. He's a wannabe Floyd Mayweather, but in reality he's a loud mouth punk who's not as talented as the media makes him out to be. After his loss to Maidana he said he rededicated himself to his craft. I seriously doubt he did and don't think he ever will. There might have been a time when he was trying to get to the top that he put the work in, but now he thinks he's made it and that he can just cruise on by anyone without putting in the work. He's not Mayweather, he never will be, and soon everyone will see that he's not really even that good. I've heard he wants to fight Manny Pacquiao, and if that fight happens he'll be completely dominated.
The last time we saw Andre Berto it looked like the end was near. He's
just 1-3 in his last four fights and that includes a beating from Jesus
Soto Karass. At the age of thirty he should still have something left in
the tank, however it takes more out of some guys to get where Berto has
been. His career reminds me of Jeff Lacy. They're similar fighters in style, but their careers seemed to end during their primes.
I'm not sure that Berto has what it takes to resume a career that once named him among the elite fighters in the welterweight division. I'm not sure who Berto intends on resuming his career with but a rematch with Soto Karass seems logical to me. If he can't beat that middle of the road fighter then it's probably over for a pretty good fighter. If he can win such a fight then he'll be ready to step up to a couple more like it, and then he could be ready for the elite welterweight fighters in the division.
Both of these fighters have been wanting this fight in my opinion. The two of them had both fought Austin Trout, and both of them beat Trout. Most fans feel like Lara handled Trout more easily than Canelo did, despite the fact that Canelo dropped him in their fight. As I see it the two of them are very comparable talent wise. It could come down to who really wants it more. This thing has fight of the year written all over it.
They both beat Austin Trout, but it's their common fight with Alfredo Angulo that has the public's interest. Lara beat him up badly and claims that Angulo was not the same fighter by the time he faced Canelo. He didn't look like a damaged fighter to me, but after Canelo beat him decisively he looked like a beaten fighter. I can easily see why this is a 50/50 fight. That's also why I'm predicting this one to produce fight of the year. When two guys with similar skills and bad intentions enter a fight it leads one to believe it's going to be one helluva battle. They've made this one personal.
Maidana Wins the Fight - Mayweather Awarded the Decision
Marcos Maidana beat Floyd Mayweather in their championship fight Saturday night. However, when the decision was announced Mayweather was still undefeated. What I saw was Maidana cutting off the ring, cornering Mayweather, and beating the hell out of him. I scored the fight 7-3 with two rounds even and Maidana winning the fight. The judges scored it like this Michael Pernick called it a draw at 114-114. Burt Clements had a
wildy favored decision for Mayweather, 117-111, and Dave Moretti called
it 116-112 for Mayweather.
I was surprised that none of the Showtime announcers thought Maidana won the fight. All four people watching the fight in my party certainly did. Mayweather looked concerned and somewhat afraid before the fight. With good reason Maidana poured it on him and never let up. When the fight was in the center of the ring Floyd was winning, but Maidana constantly took him places he didn't want to be. Mayweather knew exactly what happened to Adrian Broner because the same thing was done to him. Maidana hit him with the same shots over the top.
Mayweather said before the fight that he didn't know how Maidana would attack, but he said they'd worked on everything and would be ready for whatever. They obviously didn't watch the Broner fight because they weren't ready for Maidana. He basically ambushed the two of them and defused any kind of retaliation. Floyd wanted to take advantage of Maidana's aggressiveness, but he was unable to do so because of the relentless attack from Maidana. The countering opportunities weren't there.
The Decision
I think the decision was pure robbery, and possibly worse than the first Pacquiao/Bradley fight. Something has to be done about these judges. The corruption is killing the sport. Maidana jumped all over Mayweather and clearly beat him. Mayweather was hitting him with a higher percentage, but Maidana was fighting for 3:00 a round and hardly ever abandoned the wide open attack. He knew that if he allowed Mayweather to be the aggressor that he'd lose, but he never allowed that and he didn't lose.
The fight was clearly fixed. At this point boxing might as well be the WWE because Mayweather was not going to lose the fight by decision. It has been said that boxing was a corrupt sport, and the decision Saturday night proves it to be true. I'm a huge boxing fan, but the sport needs a serious overhaul. If they'd only look at what makes the UFC work they'd understand what's wrong with boxing. People want to see the best fighters fight each other. When they see the elite fighters do battle they get a real winner.
