By Peter Wells (twitter- @boxingpeter):
After tests aplenty, Walsall's Martin Gethin is one fight away from completing a quite amazing turn around in his career. In a once in a lifetime IBF Lightweight title eliminator Gethin will take on experienced Panamanian Ammeth Diaz in front of his home crowd at Walsall Town Hall. For the winner there is a shot at Lightweights Number 1 in the world, Miguel Vazquez - I say number 1 because Adrien Broner for now is fighting for a Welterweight title and I personally rate Vazquez above Ricky Burns. One fighter has knockout power, while the other has a granite chin and the ability to wear his opponents into submission.
For Diaz, a shot at Vazquez would be his second shot at the Lightweight champion after Vazquez dominated over 12 rounds. With just one fight since that January 2012 bout, Diaz has not fought in 8 months. Although Diaz has been stopped 7 times in 11 defeats against 31 wins, you have to take into account the opponents he has faced. Ji-Hoon Kim who stopped Diaz in a round was rated in the top ten for several years until very recently, and two of his other conquerors Souleymane M'Baye and Joan Guzman have both contested in several world title bouts. So with 22 knockouts of his own, Diaz has proved to be a fighter that knocks his opponent out or gets stopped himself. A combination which suggests on Friday night anything can happen.
As for Gethin, he started out as an unknown prospect, until he was stopped in 9 rounds against Scott Lawton. That was followed by a points reverse in a close contest with John Watson before losing a third in a row to journeyman Chris Long. Suddenly Martin's career was in jeopardy. But after picking himself back up in 2010, Gethin has roared back and gone above and beyond what anyone could have expected of the fighter they call "The Quiet Man". A shot at the IBF International title is what has earned him an elimination shot. In that fight he fought back from behind to stop the tough and hard hitting Carl Johanneson in the 11th round. Gethin followed that up by winning the Vacant British title in his backyard against another tough banger in Ben Murphy. This time Martin got the job done in 9 rounds.
In a tightly contested contest, the pick is for Gethin to edge his way into the fight after surviving some very scary early moments. Diaz will start to fade as the fight goes on and Martin can use the crowd to drag him over the line and win a close maybe split decision. From a personal standpoint I cannot wait for this fight, of which I will be attending being from Walsall myself, and I hope the rest of the UK gets behind Gethin tomorrow night.
As for the undercard, there are a wide range of fighters, but the main attraction of the 9 undercard fight is Walsall Cruiserweight Chris Keane's fight with Neil Dawson, who is fresh of a points defeat in the first round of the most recent Prizefighter two weeks ago. Both fighters have a very good punch, but it is unlikely Dawson can repeat the trick he pulled against Tony Conquest last year. So the pick is for Keane to score a stoppage in the second half of the 10 rounder.
Thursday, 30 May 2013
Saturday, 25 May 2013
Carl Froch vs Mikkel Kessler Preview
By Peter Wells (twitter - @boxingpeter):
Just over an hour after the whole of Europe witnesses an all German affair at Wembley Stadium in the Champions League Final, their gaze will switch in the same direction as the rest of the world to watch the second instalment of the enticing Carl Froch vs Mikkel Kessler thrill ride.
At 11:15pm the two fighters will make the daunting walk to the ring at the O2 Arena. For the final time they will feel the presence of those closest to them, and feel the range of emotions all rolled up into one. Nerves. But once these two warriors step inside the ropes into what that they call home, all those emotions are drained from them, and they evaporate into the ring mat. Suddenly these two men, are alone, emotionless. This is the dangerous combination that brings out such violence in men that are so cool and loving beyond the ropes. And when these men experience this surreal feeling the addiction sets in. For Froch and Kessler, that addiction set in a long, long time ago. What happens in the ring, stays in the ring, what they do is just second nature to these men they call, boxers.
To quickly re-cap the first encounter between these pair in Denmark, it was simply a 50-50 fight. One of the oldest clichés in boxing, but one that applies to any fight that leaves one second guessing his own scorecard. Kessler and Froch traded blows, but neither could bowl the other over, leaving the two fighters tired and beaten. Kessler's wounds were soothed by the bitter medicine, victory, while Froch could only lick his wounds and wait for the next lion to join him in the cage. From a personal stand point I had Froch just ahead, albeit from a slightly biased pair of eyes. I have never re-scored the fight, although on second watching it did seem right that Kessler got the nod.
Many opinions on how this fight will pan out have been flashed around. Some say that Carl Froch(30-2 22KO's) will outbox the more battle-scarred Mikkel Kessler(46-2 35KO's),while others have the impression that the Nottingham man will batter the Dane into submission. Others see Kessler as the man to show the larger arsenal of boxing skills, while very few predict Kessler can stop the yet-to-be-stopped Carl Froch.
The sensible option for Froch would be to outbox Kessler, before unloading volleys of hard punches to close out rounds. To put it better Froch needs to control the fight. As for Kessler his job will be to destroy Froch's control button, tear up the script and offer Froch an array of styles to keep the IBF Super Middleweight champion guessing. Once again to put things simply, Kessler needs to control the fight.
So, the question is, who will control the fight? Your guess is as good as mine, but in sports, guessing is almost always the way to win. For me the guess is for Froch to take control of the fight, well most of it. Kessler will have his fair share of control. The WBA champion will try to engage when Froch wants to box, and in those rounds, scoring the bout will get very interesting.
A stoppage could be on the cards, but the pick is for Carl Froch to start the bout with caution, aware
of not getting too carried away early. After 4 or 5 rounds, Froch, trailing will gradually up the tempo. Both fighters will share the effective punches category but Froch's work rate will steer the judges his way in those 'How do you score that?!' rounds. By the final bell, both fighters will look oddly similar to fight 1, and once again it will be the home fighter taking gulps of the incredible healing power of Victory!
At 11:15pm the two fighters will make the daunting walk to the ring at the O2 Arena. For the final time they will feel the presence of those closest to them, and feel the range of emotions all rolled up into one. Nerves. But once these two warriors step inside the ropes into what that they call home, all those emotions are drained from them, and they evaporate into the ring mat. Suddenly these two men, are alone, emotionless. This is the dangerous combination that brings out such violence in men that are so cool and loving beyond the ropes. And when these men experience this surreal feeling the addiction sets in. For Froch and Kessler, that addiction set in a long, long time ago. What happens in the ring, stays in the ring, what they do is just second nature to these men they call, boxers.
To quickly re-cap the first encounter between these pair in Denmark, it was simply a 50-50 fight. One of the oldest clichés in boxing, but one that applies to any fight that leaves one second guessing his own scorecard. Kessler and Froch traded blows, but neither could bowl the other over, leaving the two fighters tired and beaten. Kessler's wounds were soothed by the bitter medicine, victory, while Froch could only lick his wounds and wait for the next lion to join him in the cage. From a personal stand point I had Froch just ahead, albeit from a slightly biased pair of eyes. I have never re-scored the fight, although on second watching it did seem right that Kessler got the nod.
Many opinions on how this fight will pan out have been flashed around. Some say that Carl Froch(30-2 22KO's) will outbox the more battle-scarred Mikkel Kessler(46-2 35KO's),while others have the impression that the Nottingham man will batter the Dane into submission. Others see Kessler as the man to show the larger arsenal of boxing skills, while very few predict Kessler can stop the yet-to-be-stopped Carl Froch.
The sensible option for Froch would be to outbox Kessler, before unloading volleys of hard punches to close out rounds. To put it better Froch needs to control the fight. As for Kessler his job will be to destroy Froch's control button, tear up the script and offer Froch an array of styles to keep the IBF Super Middleweight champion guessing. Once again to put things simply, Kessler needs to control the fight.
So, the question is, who will control the fight? Your guess is as good as mine, but in sports, guessing is almost always the way to win. For me the guess is for Froch to take control of the fight, well most of it. Kessler will have his fair share of control. The WBA champion will try to engage when Froch wants to box, and in those rounds, scoring the bout will get very interesting.
A stoppage could be on the cards, but the pick is for Carl Froch to start the bout with caution, aware
of not getting too carried away early. After 4 or 5 rounds, Froch, trailing will gradually up the tempo. Both fighters will share the effective punches category but Froch's work rate will steer the judges his way in those 'How do you score that?!' rounds. By the final bell, both fighters will look oddly similar to fight 1, and once again it will be the home fighter taking gulps of the incredible healing power of Victory!
Friday, 17 May 2013
Lamont Peterson vs Lucas Matthysse Preview
By Peter Wells (twitter - @boxingpeter):
Is this the start of a new era? Are we now staring at potential super fights, that will be talked about in years to come in the same breath as the Four Kings. Maybe not. But what some boxing enthusiasts and those who claim boxing is dead more times than Archie Moore had fights, are ignoring is that between the Light Welterweight division and the Light Middleweight division, there is a heap of potential fights that will only do boxing's image good. And to figure this out you'll need a broad mind, so try looking outside of the Canelo-Mayweather box. Just try to imagine the potential fights between the likes of, Peterson, Berto, Ortiz, Khan, Canelo, Garcia, Trout and many more. These will make for thrilling fights and thrilling rivalries. But let me warn you. Don't get your hopes up just yet.
But if you are a hopeful person, then there is no reason to fear that you are raising your hopes up for nothing. Tomorrow nights match-up between Lamont Peterson(31-1-1 16KOs) and Lucas Matthysse(33-2 31KOs) gives fight fans more than enough reason to be optimistic. This is a fight between two of the premier 140lbs fighters (although it is being fought at 141lbs. And yep, your probably as dumb-founded as me with this catchweight) and also a fight between two fighters who love to force their opponents into the trenches.
Lamont Peterson took Amir Khan into the trenches in their December fight last year, and this is the first and only time I'll mention Peterson's failed drug test. My reasoning is that it has no relevance whatsoever to Saturday night's match-up. But I'm still fully expecting a good deal of comments relating to Peterson taking PED's, which is fine, but I would much rather focus on the fight itself which really is a pick em' fight.
The question that can only be answered on fight night, is whether or not Peterson can hurt Matthysse enough to keep the Argentinian off of him. Matthysse will be on the front foot throughout so it will be up to Peterson to limit how much Matthysse wishes to force the action. Matthysse is so used to beating opponents into submission, although two close and controversial defeats to slick fighters, Zab Judah and Devon Alexander may have underlined that he cant find the stoppages at the highest level. Recent stoppage victims, Humberto Soto, Ajose Olusegun and Mike Dallas Jr, are not in the same league as Peterson.
Since Peterson's only career defeat to Timothy Bradley, the Washington fighter has certainly improved but he has also suffered 3 knockdowns in his last 6 fights, and against a puncher like Matthysse Peterson may well hit the canvas once again. Although not a puncher himself, Peterson has always seemed quite large at the weight, which makes one wonder whether he can neutralise Matthysse's power with his own strength.
In a very hard fight to judge, Matthysse will find it easier to land on Peterson than the earlier mentioned Alexander and Judah, but Peterson will also be more willing to throw back than Matthysse's three latest victims. My verdict on who wins all comes down to the question that can't be answered until the fight begins. If Peterson can stun or even hurt Matthysse then the pick will be for Peterson to do enough work to win a unanimous decision, but if Peterson's punches have little or no effect on the Argentinian then Matthysse is the pick to win a close decision.
In the chief support Devon Alexander(24-1 13KOs) defends his IBF Welterweight title against Lee Purdy(20-3-1 13KOs) who came in to replace the injured Kell Brook. Alexander a very slick and fast fighter can outbox the slower but more powerful Englishman. Purdy will need to be quick on his toes to pressure Alexander and not get caught off balance. The pick is for Alexander to come out victorious in a relatively one sided fight.
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Preview of Floyd Mayweather-Robert Guerrero and Undercard (Audio)
By Peter Wells (twitter @boxingpeter):
In this weeks boxing preview, the main attraction is Floyd Mayweather vs Robert Guerrero. I hope you enjoy my preview and please leave any comments at the bottom.
In this weeks boxing preview, the main attraction is Floyd Mayweather vs Robert Guerrero. I hope you enjoy my preview and please leave any comments at the bottom.
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