Kell Brook Defeats Shawn Porter

Kell Brook vs. Amir Khan Should Be Next


Why should Brook fight Khan next? I think this is being thrown out there because of their geographical location, but that has never mattered and it means nothing. Khan wants another title shot. In my opinion he hasn't done anything since his loss to Danny Garcia to rate another shot at the title. If he really wanted the title he could have taken the path that Kell Brook took, or he could have challenged Keith Thurman for his title. I think that Amir Khan believes he is a pay-per-view fighter, but in my opinion he's not. He's closer to being a upper tier journeyman. There is nothing wrong with that.

My sample size of Kell Brook had been minimal at best. I knew the kind of fighter he was, but I didn't think he would beat Shawn Porter. I knew it would be a close fight and even thought it could challenge for fight of the year. I was wrong on this one and it probably didn't make fight of the year, although it will and should be a candidate.

What I didn't know - Kell Brook had a better defense than I thought he did. Early in the fight I thought he was barely getting his head away from Porter's punches. Later in the fight I realized he he was keeping his movement short and tight so he could fire off shots from the combat zone. Brook truly believed that he could beat Porter to the punch and he did. His defensive movements were short and he came right down the middle with straight shots. Porter was reaching and leaping in, and when Brook wasn't catching him with power shots he was smothering his attack.

Kell Brook got an opportunity and he made the most of it. He is now a recognized champion. He deserves the chance to move up toward pay-per-view status. If you try to sell me Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook, well I'm nor buying. Brook should fight Keith Thurman, and the winner of that fight would be a pay-per-view caliber fighter. Amir Khan might want to challenge Shawn Porter. Maybe then he could prove himself worth of a title shot. They're both trying to work their way back up for a title shot.

Boxing News: Garcia Defeats Salka - Who's Next?

 Danny Garcia

Danny Garcia knocked out unknown Rod Salka Saturday night. The fight with Salka was the first fight for Garcia since his bout with Mauricio Herrera. Many fight fans including the Showtime crew believed Herrera won the fight with Garcia. The majority decision was awarded to Garcia. Unjustly? Maybe, but either way Garcia needed to make a statement against Rod Salka. He did that by knocking the unknown fighter out in the 2nd round. However, he knocked out a fighter that most boxing fans agree he never should have been fighting. The next fight for Danny Garcia needs to be a big one.


Broner Open to Fighting Garcia If Money Is Right

Broner says he'd be open to fighting Garcia next if it made sense. I'm not sure what would be considered making sense to Broner, but Danny Garcia is the champion at 140 and that should make all the sense in the world. Adrien Broner really only has two options: He can go for another title belt or he could avenge the loss to Maidana. Anything other than that makes no sense. Nothing would help Broner's career more than going after the title belt and the 0 on Garcia's record. There really is no other fight for either of these fighters. The fight has been sitting there for awhile now. It's time for this one to happen.


Porter vs. Brook Preview, Prediction

This has all the makings of a great fight. Both fighters bring undefeated records into the fight. Shawn Porter has took on the better level of competition, and he destroyed Paulie Malignaggi in his last fight. Kell Brook is a taller fighter that will present a different kind of challenge. Porter's experience is the key here, and namely his fight with Devon Alexander. He's faced the quick handed boxer and found victory. I don't think he knocks Kell Brook out, but I do believe he will outpoint him over 12 rounds. Porter's relentless style will be too much for Kell Brook.

  

Boxing News: Golovkin vs Cotto?

 Golovkin Wants Cotto Fight Next

This is a fight that I'd love to see happen. Cotto would clearly be the best fighter that Golovkin has ever faced. Cotto would be facing a young and promising fighter, and one that has been brutally knocking out his opponents out. The fight with Martinez was somewhat like the rebirth of Cotto, but most fans realize that Sergio Martinez was damaged goods when he entered the ring that night. People want to know how good Golovkin really is, but they also want to know how good Cotto is under Freddie Roach.


Jennings Defeats Perez, Earns Shot at Title

This fight was not compelling. I truly don't believe I was watching championship caliber fighters boxing that night. Jennings could be a great fighter someday, but he doesn't belong in the ring with the champ right now.


Maidana: Broner Is Stronger Than Mayweather

Broner might be stronger than Mayweather, and I'm not sure that he really is, but even if he is he lacks the pure boxing skill that Mayweather has. Floyd has more than enough offense to back up the best defense in boxing. I personally think that Maidana is just throwing verbal jabs at Mayweather, but he's been in there with both of them and says Broner is stronger.


Fighting Algieri Is Lose-Lose Situation for Pacquiao

It's definitely a lose-lose situation. If he beats the guy then he was suppose to beat him, but if he loses Algieri won't get as much credit as Pacquiao gets blamed. The fact is that Algieri pulled off an upset that some fans didn't give to him, but that win doesn't merit a fight with the second best pound for pound fighter. Being that he never really deserved the fight means Pac-Man cannot win.


Report: Froch-Chavez Jr. in Talks for January

Carl Froch didn't look real good in his last fight, but he proved that he still has knockout power. He could knockout Chavez, but I highly doubt he will find the same fight saving knockout that he did before. The tank is running on empty for Carl Froch, but fight fans want to see how far he can go. If he fights Chavez in January then that's probably the end.


Floyd Approved by WBC to Defend 147/154 Belts

There is more to this decision than I currently know. I'm looking into this story right now and will write up another blog on this later. The one thing I do know is that the competition at 154 could really challenge Floyd. To be able to defend that belt against Maidana is better than taking the mandatory challenger at 154. It may be a grab to hang on to both belts.


Geale on Golovkin: He's the 'Biggest Puncher' in Boxing

It's very possible that he is the biggest puncher, but he hasn't faced the best fighters in the division. Geale was a two time champion but that doesn't mean what it once did. If he fights Miguel Cotto then we'll know what he's really made of. It's being said that all the fighters are avoiding GGG. That may be for good reason, but we all know that he hasn't faced anyone as good as Cotto.

Canelo Gets Past Lara: Who's Next?

 Lara Ran Away From Victory

 I thought the only real chance Canelo had to win the fight was by knockout. What I didn't realize was that Canelo would be the hometown favorite and that he really only had to keep it close. If Canelo did as much as Maidana did against Floyd he would get the decision. In fact he didn't get to Lara nearly as often as Maidana did Mayweather, but where Mayweather threw shots in retaliation he was still throwing. When Lara wasn't outpointing Canelo he was running for his life. Ali was the best ever at moving around the ring, and fighters were in as much danger when he was moving as they were when he planted to throw. Lara was no danger to Canelo as he hit him and ran. I cannot blame the judges for not rewarding him for running. He did more of that than he did boxing. So although he did throw and land the cleaner more effective punches; he didn't do it in a way that looked like he wanted to win. Canelo won the fight and he deserved the win. He actually hit the moving Lara more than I expected.


Who's Next?



De La Hoya Talks Possible Golovkin Bout for Canelo


I think the most realistic fights for Canelo are Cotto or Golovkin. They might want to go after Cotto. His recent victory came over a broken version of Sergio Martinez. He might be the most suspect of the two. Golovkin needs a fight with Canelo or Cotto. Chavez Jr needs a fight with one of the three, (Canelo, Golovkin, or Cotto) but it wouldn't hurt him to take a fight with Lara to prove himself. The other three need to fight. The odd man out could take on Chavez Jr or even Lara. The best fighters in the division are all at the top and they need to fight each other.  

Prediction: Erislandy Lara vs. Saul Alvarez

Canelo Could Be In Trouble

This fight started out as a 50-50 pick'em, but I think the odds have shifted in favor of Lara. Most of the boxing experts are picking him, and the two common opponents have both said they think Lara is the better fighter. Canelo didn't have to take this tough fight. He could have taken another Angulo type opponent to build up his stock. He didn't do it because he wanted to fight the best. Lara says Canelo will regret taking the fight. It doesn't appear that Canelo will win, but he asked for the fight and he really appears confident that he'll win. 


The Two Common Fights

Lara and Canelo both fought Alfredo Angulo and Austin Trout. I think Canelo did better against Angulo, and Lara did better against Trout. Canelo proved in his fight with Angulo that he could box from the outside. There was a noticeable improvement in his speed. When Lara took on Trout he totally dominated him. Lara proved he was a better boxer than Trout. Canelo had trouble with Trout and if he hadn't knocked him down then he might not have beat him. So it would seem that Lara would beat Canelo, but then considering that Angulo dropped Lara, well just imagine what Canelo's power shots could do. 


Alfredo Angulo

                           

   

Austin Trout

The New Canelo Alvarez

Canelo learned a lot from his defeat against Floyd Mayweather. When he needed to box with Mayweather he didn't have the hand speed to do so. He never found opportunities to throw his best punches. He was taken to school, and he clearly took something away from his lesson. Canelo went back to the gym and when he faced Angulo he was much faster. It seems Angulo was a test. Canelo could fight from the outside with his newly increased speed, but if things got rough he felt he could blast Angulo out of there. Canelo blasted him out of there, but it wasn't with one big punch. He beat Angulo with powerful and quick shots. He broke him down and completely dominated him. 

 




Lara Knows He Can Beat Canelo
  
The only loss on Lara's record is a horrible decision to Paul Williams. The man should be undefeated as it was one of the worst decisions I've ever witnessed. Lara dominated the tall southpaw fighter. I thought he took all but two rounds of the fight. He beat him to the punch all night and didn't have anything on Williams in reach, He out boxed him with an in and out attack that Paul had no answer for. 

What does the Williams fight have to do with Canelo? 

Lara fought the same fight with Williams that I expect against Canelo. The one fight that Canelo lost was to Mayweather, and he was out boxed in that fight. He's going to take the fight to Lara, because that's what he does, and that's also what Paul Williams did. Lara with his attack and move style out boxed and out pointed him. That is what he'll be doing against Canelo. I believe he knows he can out box him regardless of Alvarez's improvements in that area. 

The Prediction

I recently heard that Canelo is the favorite in the fight. I figured that would be Canelo. The loss to Mayweather actually helped his career. The casual fan believes that Canelo is better than Lara, but those in boxing all say Lara wins this one including the two common opponents. I like Canelo and have always liked the slugger type fighters, Tyson, Morrison, Foreman, Fraizer, Patterson, Marciano, etc. However, I believe the better boxer has the advantage over the power punchers. Lennox Lewis out boxed Tyson and Morrison. Ali out boxed Fraizer,Foreman, and Patterson. Marciano never lost but he was losing to Ezzard Charles who was out boxing him before he got caught. Canelo is a power puncher like the others, but since the loss to Mayweather he has improved in the area of boxing. 

It still comes down to the power for Canelo. Can he catch Lara for the knockout? I cannot see that happening. I've got Lara by a split decision.  

Mayweather vs. Maidana Rematch Set for September 13th

 Mayweather vs. Maidana 2

Floyd Mayweather has announced the rematch with Marcos Maidana for September 13. This is a fight that I thought Floyd had to take. Their first fight was so close that I originally thought Maidana had done enough to win, but upon rewatching the bout I realized that Floyd had outscored him in more of the later rounds. At first I'd thought Maidana won more rounds 7-12. The real point is that Floyd told him he could have a rematch that night because he knew the man had fought him close. The judges had scored the fight 114-114, 117-111, 116-112. I didn't think that the fight was a draw, but it was close enough to see why and how someone would have scored it that way. The boxing public had nothing good to say about that score and wondered what judge Michael Pernick  was smoking. It was an extremely hard fight to score and I found nothing wrong with the 114-114 scorecard. This fight was screaming for a rematch and Floyd did what he needed to do in this situation.
 

Scoring the 1st Fight

The first fight was very hard to score and I admit that I initially scored it wrong. In my defense I wasn't scoring it the first time I watched it. What I noticed was that Maidana was throwing and bullying Floyd. It's true that Mayweather was hitting Maidana, but he was scoring a lot of his points fighting his way out of trouble. Mayweather was rarely the fighter coming forward and forcing the action. It's easy to see why someone might not have scored all the punches Floyd landed. He was consistently fighting for his life and to the judging eye he appeared to be the one in trouble. Maidana would move in and catch a few punches coming in, and then he'd corner Mayweather landing some of his own, but many were blocked by by Floyd. He'd land some shot on the inside, however they weren't easy to see and didn't have the visual presence that Maidana's punches did. Mayweather landed the higher percentage of punches, but Maidana was clearly landing the harder punches.


Why Do I Want to See it Again?

1) The first fight was close.

2) Floyd said he give him a rematch.

3) Mayweather said he could do better than he did.

4) The other big fighters all have opponents.

5) The first fight was full of action. 


The first fight was close enough that some fans thought Maidana was the winner. Mayweather himself looked unsure of the outcome as he awaited the decision. He knew he owed Maidana a rematch based on his own performance. Floyd and some of his fans believe he could have really outclassed Maidana the way he did Guerrero. I don't think he can beat Maidana like that, and that's assuming he had an off night. Floyd can outpoint Maidana and he knows that after the first fight. Maidana knows that Floyd is quick and elusive, but after facing Mayweather he realizes that he can take his best punches. I'd be completely shocked if Mayweather mixed it up with Maidana, and I know that is exactly what El Chino is going to want to do. I want to see what kind of adjustments the two fighters have made. The fight will be a good one and promises all the action of the first contest.

Terence Crawford vs Yuriorkis Gamboa

Gamboa Moves Up and Goes Down


This was one helluva fight and it turned into an all out war at times. When you watch a fight this is what you hope to see. These two warriors put it all on the line in what could be fight of the year.

The two fighters entered the ring with identical records. I thought Gamboa was the better of the two fighters, and after four rounds it appeared I was correct. As I watched the fight I noticed that Crawford was starting to see some openings in Gamboa's defense. He'd switched to a left handed style and stuck with it. He seemed to find the holes better from the left side. He hurt Gamboa with several right hooks as he tried to move in. I think Crawford made the switch so he could better defend himself, but he didn't seem to lose a thing offensively. In the 9th round Crawford got him out of there. He unloaded some very powerful shots on Gamboa and knocked him out.