Great before Greatness

There seems to be this growing trend in boxing, fighters proclaiming their greatness before having ever proved it. Boxing has a history of fighters being hyped, usually by promoters to put asses in seats and thats understandable. But more recently it seems that some fighters are being marketed like products to the public at large. We see these guys with padded records and a bunch of knockouts, to the casual fan that is impressive, but to the more dedicated fan it is not. Deontay Wilder is one example, he is hyped as the next great american heavyweight, and they parade his record as if it is some feat, all wins by knockout, yea, well against who? Gennady Golovkin has a title but again we have to look at the quality of his opposition, he struggled against shopworn Kassim Ouma, and has for the most part dined on smaller fighters moving up in weight. I am not saying that these guys wont actually produce, but they have not produced thus far.

Last Saturday we seen a myth debunked in Adrien Broner, and for the exact reason that he believed in his own hype. He seemed to have adopted the Floyd Mayweather attitude, lifestyle, and mouth. However, Floyd has earned that right because he has continually backed it up against high level opposition, Broner has not. He has fought sub par competition thus far, aside from De Leon when many thought he lost that fight. Maidana brutalized Broner for 12 hard fought rounds and put Broner down twice. To his credit he was able to fight on, so he is tough, but in my opinion his mouth far exceeds his ability. He acted as if he was great before he actually proved it. The moment he stepped up, he was put down, and put down brutally by Maidana.

Amir Khan is another prime example of an over hyped fighter who is mediocre at best. He has quick hands and a pretty good punch, but those two assets are over shadowed by his multiple deficiencies which have led him to a couple knockout losses. He was out on his feet for 2 to 3 rounds against Maidana and somehow managed to win that fight. He is now calling for a fight with Mayweather and it baffles me. He has done nothing to deserve a crack at the greatest fighter in recent memory, why not Danny Garcia?

Before we go jumping on peoples bandwagon, look at who they have fought and decide for yourself if they are what we are told they are. Dont get sucked into these hype jobs by some people looking to make money with an exciting fighter by putting him in against a low risk opponent. Its all about money and we should demand more out of champions or those talking like they are the next big thing. Greatness is earned, it is strived for through blood, sweat, and tears, not by pretending you are great before you have proven yourself to be great. 

Thurman vs Soto Karass post fight analysis

While I was salivating for the Maidana vs Broner fight, this fight was nearly as mouth watering. I have been watching Thurman because there was something about him, I have this gut feeling about him and I think I might be right after his fight with Soto Karass. Thurman showed that he is much more than just a banger, he showed that he has real talent as he employed a beautiful strategy against the tough and cagey veteran Soto Karass, who was coming of a spectacular knockout win over Andre Berto. I was not sure if Thurman could keep up this game plan all night but he was boxing brilliantly, showing us just how many tools the man has in his arsenal. He was patient and stuck to his game plan, he showed a great deal of poise in the face of the tremendous amount of pressure Soto Karass was putting on him. He showed a good chin and great stamina as he walked his man down and eventually got a pretty brutal knockout. I think Keith Thurman might just be the real deal, Soto Karass is not easy to look good against, even if you beat him. If you are not it, he will certainly find that out for us and Thurman looked good.

On a side note I would like to say that the ref Jon Schorle did a great job, Soto Karass was going down and the ref was able to break his fall and stop him from potentially slamming his head on the canvas, and Soto Karass was clearly out. Kudos to you Mr. Schorle.

Maidana vs Broner post fight analysis

Last night we seen one of the more anticipated fights of the year, Broner vs Maidana in a 147lb clash. The image that was created for or by Broner was that he is the heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather. The problem with "the problem" is that he has been feasting on b level fighters and claiming to be great. To be great you must beat great and while Broner showed heart, he failed against the hard punching Maidana. Being from Ohio I originally rooted for Broner, but his antics have really turned me off as they were a bit much for me. One video he posted was of him on the toilet saying that he "shits money" and sure enough he distastefully shows his crap and several bills in the toilet. For me this was distasteful for so many reasons, poop is disgusting and the fact that so many are struggling and he is throwing money in the toilet disgusts me more than his turd. So yea, going into the fight I was biased, which is one reason why I did not post any predictions on it.

Maidana is about as tough as they come and I knew that Broner was in for a long night. The last year or so I began thinking that Broner actually believed his own hype, doing more talking than fighting. Even in sparring sessions it seemed as if he was getting handled by guys that should not be handling him, yet still talking a big game. However, Maidana has come up short on a few occasions and at times has looked a bit lackluster. This fight, he was different. He came out on a mission to show Broner that while others may believe the Broner hype, he did not. He roughed Broner up pretty good the first round, and in typical distasteful fashion Broner and Maidana got tangled up and Broner positioned himself behind Maidana and "humped" him, a move that he paid for dearly in the next round. Maidana again came out looking to destroy, and he floored Broner hard. The replay showed Broners eyes in the back of his head, I think if the ropes did not break his fall that he may have slammed his head into the canvas and not gotten up. All credit to Broner for making it out of the round being seriously hurt.

The beating continued and anytime Broner attempted to take control, Maidana came right back with several shots. That is one thing that really makes Maidana so dangerous, he is a hard puncher with either hand and he throws several shots, not just one. Broner tried and I give him credit for that, but he was once again floored in the 8th round, this time not as hurt as the first. As Maidana came on Broner tied up and Maidana blatantly headbutted him. The comical part was when Broner put on an acting display that clearly convinced nobody as he was clearly looking to win by DQ or at least have an excuse as to why he lost. But, the beating continued throughout and I had it a landslide victory for Maidana, and thankfully so did the judges.

Now that Broner has been humbled maybe he will learn that you earn your way then you can talk. Floyd Mayweather did just that, he earned the right to be a loud mouth because he backs it up every single time, oh, and against world class opposition. Broner thought he was great before he beat a great and it just doesn't work like that. Silly antics like having someone brush your hair after a fight does not make you great, beating b level fighters does not make you great, beating great fighters makes you great. Humility does wonders, and maybe it will for Broner too.

Kirkland vs Tapia, Post fight analysis

Well, I said it before and I will say it again, I will admit when I am wrong, and I was wrong on this one. Last night we saw the return of James Kirkland on the undercard of Rigondeux vs Agbeko, and boy did he return in style. The first round it was clear that Kirkland had some ring rust, but it was not clear if it was just some ring rust or that Kirkland was a shot fighter. He looked a bit uncomfortable and Tapia did not seem deterred by anything Kirkland had to offer. Despite having some doubts about my call on this fight, they seemed to subside in that first round, Kirkland just did not look like Kirkland. He was taking a lot of punches and seemed unsure of his distance and looked a bit awkward throwing his punches. However it became evident that Kirkland was determined to overcome this ring rust and in the second and third he seemed to really begin to shake it off and find his old form again. I was not sure if Tapia was hurt or if he was intent on letting Kirkland punch himself out, he would let Kirkland whale on him but he would strike out here and there. So I thought maybe Tapia was attempting a rope-a-dope strategy, but again as the fight wore on it became clear that Kirkland was not shot and that he was really coming on. He was beating Tapia's body so bad that there were some points that he was on the inside and visibly leaning his body awkwardly away from Kirkland, thats when I knew he was done. The first three rounds it looked like Hagler v. Hearns, no joke, they both nailed each other with good shots and Kirkland threw an unbelievable amount of punches, it seemed like there was no way he could sustain this, but he did. In fact, he looked as if he was getting stronger as the fight wore on.

So Kirkland proved me wrong. I have to give him credit, he seemed to have everything working against him. One thing that did make me doubt my call was that I had learned that a few months back he reconciled with Ann Wolfe. If anyone can bring Kirkland back after such a long layoff, its Ann Wolfe. It seems he has shaken the rust and has gotten back his old form. He also took on a young and hungry 23 year old unbeaten up and comer in Glen Tapia, things have gotten much more interesting in the middleweight division.

Yes, I admit it, I was wrong about Danny Garcia

Before Danny Garcia fought Lucas Matthysse, I told my friend Fady that Garcia was going to lose to the man dubbed "the machine." I genuinely liked, and still like, Danny Garcia but I just did not see him as much of a threat. Yea, he beat Amir Khan and brutally knocked out aged veteran Erik Morales, but Matthysse was quickly proving that his nickname was more than just a nickname. Going into the Matthysse fight Garcia was coming off a hard fought win over Zab Judah. I saw that fight and thought that if he struggled against Judah then he was overrated and would get beaten up by Matthysse. But, I admit to my mistakes, I was dead wrong about that. Garcia made Matthysse live up to his nick name machine, making him look one dimensional and robotic. It was not even close as Garcia cruised to an easy 12 decision and Matthysse looked more like a mediocre fighter than the destroyer we previously thought him to be. Perhaps Matthysse is as good as we thought and Garcia is just much better than we thought. At any rate, Danny Garcia has proven that he belongs amongst the higher echelon fighters, taking challenges that he is not supposed to win, and proving everyone wrong.

I was wrong about Danny Garcia, and I am happy about that actually. Garcia is a class act, a very quiet and modest hard working talent. He is well spoken and a guy that everyone can root for. His press conferences are a thing to behold at times, but not because of anything he does, but its his fathers mouth. What makes that so cool? That Garcia manages to get in the ring and back it up. I was wrong and I am happy that I was wrong, I like Garcia and I think he is going to go far in this sport. This is just the beginning in my opinion.

Thoughts on Golovkin

WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is being touted as the next big thing in boxing. He is building a reputation as a fearsome puncher with good boxing skills and a great amateur pedigree. Unlike many in the boxing world, I am not yet sold on Golovkin. Is he fun to watch? Yes, I enjoy watching him but at the same time I must live in reality and therefore what he has done thus far is pretty unremarkable, to me at least. He won the WBA crown in 2010 against a guy named Nilson Tapia, then defended that against Kassim Ouma, and did not look as fearsome as many described. So for three years he has been WBA champ and has fought relatively unknown fighters, aside from Ouma, and 154lb fighters like Nobuhiro Ishida. More recently he beat up and stopped Curtis Stevens, who is again more of a 154lb fighter who himself has done relatively little but is known as a puncher. Sure, I enjoyed seeing Stevens look of surprise when he got knocked down against Golovkin, but in perspective Stevens is no Marvin Hagler.

Matthew Macklin is probably the only legitimate 160lb fighter on Golovkins record, sure, it was a devastating punch to the ribs. Macklin is most definetly a solid guy who challenged Sergio Martinez for the middleweight championship and lost in a brave effort. So we can give him that, he stopped Macklin on a body shot when Martinez struggled and even got knocked down by Macklin. But why do Golovkins promoters keep putting him in against guys that seemingly have no hope? No he is scheduled to fight Osumanu Adama, yea, a tough guy from Ghana that has only one legitimate guy on his ledger, Daniel Geale. Why not Sergio Martinez? Why not Chavez Jr.? Why this guy?

Fact is, Golovkin is fun to watch, nobody seems to disagree on that, but is he something special? Well, that remains to be seen for me.

King Khan or King Con?

If there is one thing I dislike in boxing, it is a man making a living off of his name, hype, or some other nonsense other than his, or her, abilities. We are all anxiously awaiting to hear who Floyd Mayweathers next opponent will be, and of course some are making a case for themselves. But none as undeserving as Amir Khan. Why on earth does he deserve a shot at the greatest p4p fighter? He was stopped by Breidis Prescott, who has gone on to do relatively nothing, but, ok maybe that first round knock out loss was just a fluke. Ya know, this is boxing, things like that can happen, but then he lost to Danny Garcia when he got clipped in the middle of an exchange. He also lost a controversial decision to Lamont Peterson in a wildly entertaining bout that was very close. I mean honestly, am I missing something here? Who does Khan think he is? He has consistently shown an inability to take a punch and to absorb instruction from high level trainers, each time he gets stopped, he gets a new trainer but does not seem to change any of his amateur habits.

Is it possible that Khan has enough positive attributes to offset his deficiencies against Floyd? Sure, anything is possible, but probable? No, hardly. Floyd is a defensive master and while he could likely stop Khan early, he is a cautious fighter, a smart fighter. He would cautiously box Khan until he slowed enough for Floyd to knock him out. Sure Khan is fast and he can hit a bit, but this is Floyd Mayweather, not Breidis Prescott or Lamont Peterson, or even Danny Garcia, all due respect to him as he is quickly proving to be something special. Khan literally has speed and power, that is pretty much it. He has not learned how to calm down and stop jumping all over the place, or even how to properly pace himself. I am sure he has been told but it clearly has not worked. His defensive liabilities are too numerous to even count and against a guy like Floyd that will spell a beating for Khan. If you watch his fight with Garcia, it did not take long for Garcia to figure out Khans weaknesses, and almost immediately began trying to time him. Because of Khans speed it took Garcia a few round before he timed his punch perfectly. It wont take Floyd that long even, this isn't his first rodeo, his experience, superior speed, and nearly everything else will be too much for Khan to overcome.

I am just dumbfounded at the level of delusion that Khan is experiencing right now. To even think that he can beat Floyd is laughable. The man is incapable of changing his style, relying on speed and power to bail him out, and against high level guys, thats just not going to cut it, especially when you have a glass chin. When Lennox Lewis got knocked out by McCall, he did not continue to fight in the same manner he always had, he hired Steward and began learning how to box and properly protect his chin. Khan has seemingly done the opposite, hired good trainers, then ignored their advice. Even when he beat Maidana, he was out on his feet for nearly two rounds and was entirely out of gas. So when he does beat a decent fighter, he still doesn't look all that good.

Should Floyd fight Khan? He should fight whoever they put in front of him, and it would be an easy payday that is for sure. However, I think Floyd should fight a deserving fighter like Danny Garcia, he has proven himself over and over. As for Khan? I do not think he is the worst fighter I have ever seen but I do think he is either delusional in thinking that he is even worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as fighters like Floyd, or he is just conning us all. I tend to think the latter.