Boxing Fulcrum

Japan cancels all boxing events in March due to Corona Virus

Today the people in control of boxing in Japan cancelled all events in March due to the risk of Corona Virus. It seems that most events or activities where large groups of people gather will be called off while the threat of the Corona Virus is still around. Last week a card in Italy was cancelled after a lot of cases of the Virus were found in Northern Italy.

I think this is the right decision as all bouts can be scheduled later and its too much of a health risk for these cards to go ahead. Earlier today a man came down with Corona like symptoms in Canary Wharf which is a worry. I do currently have tickets to the Dubois vs Joyce fight but obviously if an outbreak occurs in London then presumably it will be cancelled and if it isn’t I wouldn’t risk going. You can get a better view on your TV anyway without the risk of getting the Corona you don’t want.

Who will fight for the Super bantamweight WBO title once Navarrete moves up?

After Emanuel Navarrete’s fight last weekend its been suggested that he will likely move up a division as he really struggled to make the weight. I’ve seen from a lot of people that this will happen and it makes sense as Navarrete is big for the weight and his promoters don’t really have anyone for him to fight at super bantamweight unless they can get him a unification which seems unlikely. The WBO featherweight title is currently held by Shakur Stevenson who is with the same promoter that Navarrete is so that fight could be made or whats more likely is Stevenson moves up a weight and Navarrete fights for his vacant title.

With the title being vacant the WBO will put forward the two highest ranked fighters to fight for the title. If both of these fighters accept their offer it could be an interesting match up as I’ll explain below

The number one contender is Stephen Fulton who is currently 18-0 with 8 knockouts. He isn’t the biggest puncher but certainly doesn’t have feathers for fists. In his last fight with Arnold Khegai he showed both his strengths and his weaknesses. Hes a good boxer who fights well on the outside and will move around the ring out boxing you with just enough pop in his hands to stop people just walking forwards. Thats his strengths but unfortunately he also has a few glaring weaknesses. One of them is that he doesn’t seem to have an inside game at all as every time Khegai got near he grabbed and held him desperately. As the fight went on he struggled to get out of the corners when he was getting backed up and this is why I would have picked Navarrete to beat him as hes a better pressure fighter than Khegai and also punches harder and more often. To be fair to him Khegai was his hardest test to date and he will improve after 12 hard rounds.

The number two contender is Angelo Leo who is currently 19-0 with 9 knockouts. Like Fulton he isn’t a massive puncher but he has been facing more veterans who know how to survive so in my opinion he does hit harder than Fulton. I was impressed when Leo stopped Cesar Juarez in his last fight as he showed real improvements from his previous fights and Juarez is a hard guy to stop. I think Leo has a better inside game and is more willing to trade with his opponents though is perfectly capable of boxing on the back foot.

I think this is a good 50/50 fight as Fulton is in my opinion the better boxer on the back foot and I think might have a slight hand speed advantage but Leo is better on the inside and has more power. If i’m honest they are very even and it’ll be hard to pick a winner though Fultons 12 rounds with Khegai may serve him well but saying that he needs to learn a different tactic apart from desperately holding on when his opponents get close to him.

Wilder making excuses isn’t a good sign for the rematch.

Wilder today has said the reason he lost was because his outfit for his ring walk left him tired. When I first saw this I thought someone was joking at his expense but he somehow said this himself. I don’t believe it actually tired him out as its just a ridiculous excuse. Had him and his team never put it on before? it just doesn’t make any sense but I understand when a boxer takes their first loss its hard and its easy to make excuses instead of looking at what went wrong and correcting them. Hes also made comments about potentially firing Mark Breland because he threw in the towel and he’d told his team he’d rather die in the ring than that happen. His excuse with the ring outfit I can understand to an extent and potentially its true (we won’t ever know) but to throw the man who saved you from further damage under the bus isn’t right and Breland deserves better. He was looking out for Wilder and thinking about his health after all boxing is just a sport and Wilder has a family which is much more important than whether he stays a champion or not. He also said that he thought Breland was influenced to throw the towel in by Anthony Dirrell who is trained by Javan “Sugar Hill” Steward who obviously also trains Tyson Fury. This to me is a bit delusional to say the least and quite disrespectful to Breland who was the only one in that corner that cared for Wilder’s health enough to throw the towel in and save him from himself.

I don’t think any of this bodes well for a rematch as instead of working on things it seems like Wilder will use excuses and come in the same apart from potentially getting rid of one of the best members of his team in Breland. I know Wilder won’t read this but I just want to say that you’ll always be a champion to your kids and its not worth dying or getting badly injured over a sanctioning body belt when its your health that matters so much more than any stupid belt.

Is Tyson Fury Britains best ever heavyweight?

After Furys emphatic win last night in what is perhaps a career best performance we have to start looking at how he ranks up against the other all time great British Heavyweights. Fury has toppled both Wilder and Klitschko and stopped their long reigns as champions. He’s held every world title that you can get and has now won the ring magazine belt twice, the only other person to do that was Muhammed Ali. He has a few good wins versus contenders in this era in Chisora and Hammer but doesn’t yet have the deepest resume. Hes also only competed in 3 title bouts though those have been very significant ones. Skill wise everyone knew he was good just not that he could change up his style and bully the hardest punching heavyweight in history. I like Fury and I believe that hes the best of this era and will go down as an all time great heavyweight when its all said and done. All fighters search for their career defining fights and victories but Fury has had three massive ones that will go down in history and he arguably won them all.

As of right now I think Hes Britains second greatest heavyweight behind Lennox Lewis due to Lewis beating everyone in his era apart from Riddick Bowe who they couldn’t get a fight with. His resume really is great and like Fury hes got the big names on there like Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield (yes we know Tyson wasn’t in his prime) but he also has a litany of other notable names like David Tua, Hasim Rahman and so on. He is also a three time heavyweight champion of the world which is an incredible achievement. I think in time Fury can become our greatest heavyweight and he certainly has the skills to do it we just need too see how it plays out in the next couple of years to find out.

With this win over Wilder I am 100% certain that Fury will now make the boxing hall of fame because he has two massive wins against the best of his era and he also has a few other notable names already and the man is only 31. I hope we get too see him versus Anthony Joshua because those fights would be great and I would also back the Gypsy King to beat them all.

Can Wilder get into the hall of fame right now?

I’ve seen a few people questioning whether he can or not and I think it depends when he retires. If he retires on a year where not many good fighters retire he likely gets in otherwise he’ll have to wait a few years. I do think he gets into the hall of fame right now because hes defended his heavyweight title 10 times and is one of the biggest punchers in heavyweight history. I think that every heavyweight that has made 10 defences of their title has got in so far apart from Klitchscho and thats because he isn’t eligible yet. I think people forget that the boxing hall of fame isn’t too picky with who they put in so if you’ve fought some good names or made a lot of defences you’ll get in at some point. Personally I think Wilder needs to beat Fury to really cement his place there but I wouldn’t argue if he got in from his achievements now after all if Rocky Balboa can get in so can Wilder.

Wilder versus Fury 2 prediction and why we need more fights like this.

I’m not going to go into extensive detail because you would’ve already heard from much more qualified people than me about this fight. I think Wilder will win by KO somewhere in the second half of the fight after being behind on the scorecards. I think that after spending 12 rounds with Fury he’ll have worked out his style and will find an opening for his right hand at some point in the fight. Fury can obviously prove me wrong and out box him for 12 rounds but I think its more likely Wilder wins by KO.

We need more fights like this because it grows boxing and gets more people involved in the sport. People that don’t usually watch boxing will watch this fight and may get into the sport like I did after the first fight. Hopefully we see more mega fights like this because this is what the pinnacle of our sport is and yet we rarely see it. I can’t wait for this fight and I hope you all enjoy watching it as well

Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury 2 and the weeks boxing

We have a huge fight week coming up and I personally can’t wait for Saturdays mega fight between Wilder and Fury. Before that however theres lots of boxing to watch which could potentially be just as entertaining.

On Thursday in the USA Ruben Torres fights Gabino Cota in a small step up fight which i’ll be interested in seeing how he does as I think he is a very good prospect. I expect him to win by knockout but we’ll see.

On another card from the USA this time on Friday Robeisy Ramirez fights Rafeal Morales. Ramirez is a two time Olympic gold medalist and could potentially be a great prospect. He did lose his debut which was one of the biggest shocks in the sport last year. I expect him to win here and hopefully in impressive fashion as he starts adapting better to the pro style of fighting.

A card that i’m interested in on Friday takes place in the UK headlined by Josh Wale versus Iddi Kayumba. Wale has had a very long career and fought everyone domestically and even some at European level. Hes currently on a 3 fight win streak and will be looking to continue that good run in 2020. I think he should be able to beat Kayumba who hasn’t beaten anyone that would suggest he can pull off the upset before pushing on to bigger fights later this year.

Also on that under card a good heavyweight scrap between Kash Ali and Kamil Sokolowski takes place over 8 rounds. Kash is most known for biting David Price and getting disqualified but I think hes one of the better British level heavyweights and could win a British title later on. Kamil is a lot better than his record suggests and he could pull the upset here but he is taking the fight on short notice so whether that will effect him we’ll see. If Kash wins I’d like too see him fight David Allen as both are domestic level and it would be a decent under card filler fight.

The biggest card on Friday also takes place in the UK this time at the iconic York Hall. MTK are putting their semi-finals for the feather and super lightweight golden contract tournaments on the same card here. Leigh Wood fights James Dickens for a place in the finals of the featherweights. Both looked good in their previous bouts but I think Wood should be able to beat Dickens as it seems hes really hit his prime now. Tyrone Mckenna fights Mohammed Mimoune in a fight which puts the two best technical boxers in their competition (super lightweight) together. I think Mimoune should be able to take a decision as long as hes switched on and doesn’t get robbed.

Moving on to the featherweights Ryan Walsh fights Tyrone McCullagh in semi final one. Walsh is the favourite because of his advantage in terms of experience but he does sometimes wait a bit too long for my liking and if McCullagh can keep busy (easier said than done) then he could pull off the upset. The other featherweight semi final is between Ohara Davies and Jeff Ofori. Davies is the bigger man as Ofori is naturally a lightweight but moved up when he was given the opportunity to compete after someone pulled out last time. I think Davies should be able to win this but at the same time hes so on and off when he boxes you never know which version of Davies will turn up. Ofori will really come to win and I hope he does as I was impressed when after taking his first loss he went on the road and won. He then went one better and came in short notice for this tournament a week later and got a draw where he should have won before a fourth judge gave him the unofficial win to move on to the next stage.

Next up on Friday is a card from Canada which features quite a few good prospects. Artem Oganesyan fights Fouad El Massoudi over 10 rounds in a well matched fight. Massoudi is better than his record suggests but is moving up a weight but at the same time Oganesyan hasn’t had a test like this yet. Oganesyan is only 20 and looks like he could be a force to be reckoned with in the 154 pound division so its exciting too see how he does here.

Another prospect/contender on this card is Erik Bazinyan. Hes slowly built himself a 24-0 record which has made him one of the best prospects in the super middleweight division. I’d like too see him step up soon and while his opponent Timo Laine isn’t bad hes someone Bazinyan should beat comfortably. There isn’t a huge rush as Bazinyan is only 24 but I think hes ready for a good step up fight now perhaps against Roamer Alexis Angulo.

Simon Kean is Canada’s best heavyweight prospect and I expect that won’t change on Friday. Daniel Martz is currently being used as a name on peoples resume because hes fought other people that are good fighters but hasn’t actually beaten anyone good himself. I expect Kean to knock him out within 3 or 4 rounds. The last prospect i’m keeping an eye out for on this card is Nurzat Sabirov who fights Ricardo Adrian Luna Flores. Sabirov should win as Flores isn’t what he used to be but really this fight is all about how he looks in winning not whether he will or not.

Also on Friday a card out of Russia interests me that includes Apti Davtaev versus John Napari. Davtaev is being active now which is nice too see as I think hes Russia’s best heavyweight prospect. His opponent doesn’t look great as while hes has a 21-0 record its very padded. I’m just glad Davtaev is getting active and hopefully he looks good here.

Also on the card Aslambek Idigov fights Ryan Ford over 10 rounds in what should be a good fight. Ford is a road warrior that carries good power and we’ve seen Idigov get hurt before. This is an excellent test for Idigov and also a very winnable fight for Ford. Hopefully we get too see more match making like this in the future.

My second last card that i’m interested in comes from the UK on Saturday where Brad Foster versus Lucien Reid for the British Super Bantam weight title headlines. This a rematch where the two drew after 12 rounds of action. Many felt Reid deserved to come out the winner and I agreed. I’m glad we are getting good domestic fights like this and I think Reid will win the rematch. The other significant fight on this card is Kody Davies versus Umar Sadiq in a eliminator for the British Super middleweight title. This is a very even fight and I can’t pick a winner if i’m being honest so i’ll go with the draw. The rest of this card is prospects versus journeymen but notable names are Willy Hutchinson, Dennis McCann and Ryan Garner.

The last and biggest card of the weekend is Deontay Wilder versus Tyson Fury 2. This is an incredible fight and one i’m not sure who’s going to win. While I don’t agree with Fury being lineal champ its still a massive fight and one between two of the top 3 heavyweights in the world. I think Wilder will connect with Fury and KO him this time though because I think that a big part of Fury’s success at the top level is the confusion that people have when they first fight him. I think that if your a top 5 heavyweight and you lose to Fury in the first fight then its likely you win the second because you would have worked him out by then. I think Wilder has his number now but at the same time like most Wilder fights he could be out boxed to a wide decision but so far no one has been able to do that. I know people will say Fury won the first fight but was robbed and I agree that he won but I don’t think a rematch will suit him well while Wilder now knows his tricks and has looked improved since their first fight.

On the under card Charles Martin fights Gerald Washington in an IBF eliminator… somehow. This perhaps shows the lack of depth at heavyweight that these guys are fighting in an eliminator. Both have been beaten by Kownacki but whoever wins this fight will somehow go ahead of him in the IBF rankings which makes no sense and its a shame the IBF are doing this as normally they are the most reasonable sanctioning body. I think Charles Martin will win this but i’m not hugely confident as neither are especially great but Martin is younger and put on a good performance vs Kownacki.

Also on the under card Emanuel Navarrete defends his WBO Super Bantam weight title for the 5th time in under 9 months versus Jeo Santisima. I like how active Navarrete is and that hes always in entertaining fights so I don’t particularly mind who he fights. I think he should win this fight by KO before moving on to a hopeful unification or a move up in weight. Amir Ahmed Imam fights Javier Molina in a fun 50/50 crossroads fight. I think Imam’s power will win him this one.

Isaac Lowe fights Alberto Guevara in what is a bit of a step up for Isaac Lowe. He should win but I don’t rate him that highly if i’m honest though he’ll likely challenge for a title at some point if hes moved well. Subriel Matias returns versus Petros Ananyan in a fight he should win comfortably. Ananyan is a bit awkward but Matias’s power should wear him down before a stoppage in the late rounds. I want to see Matias versus one of the 140 pound champions soon though they are all locked up in fights right now. Sebastion Fundora a 6,5 super welterweight fights 2016 Olympian Daniel Lewis over 10 rounds. I think Fundora wins this due to his size and also his performances in the pro’s so far.

Gabriel Flores Jr fights Matt Conway in a good test for the youngster. Flores is only 19 but is already 16-0. I think he’ll box to a wide decision in this fight. Rolando Romero fights Arturs Ahmetovs in a good fight between prospects. Romero is the much better prospect and I think he wins by KO. The last fight taking place on this card is Vito Mielnicki Jr vs Corey Champion. Mielnicki will likely win by decision and be 5-0 before his 18th birthday.

As always I hope you enjoy the boxing this weekend and that all the fighters get home safely. I’ll be back with my usual preview next Thursday where we have a massive card in Texas too look at.

Ruben Torres : One to watch

Torres is a 22 year old Super lightweight who currently holds a record of 11-0 with 9 knockouts. Hes mostly been on the small cards and hasn’t signed with a big promoter yet. He hasn’t faced any notable names in his career so far but it is very early on.

Torres can fight on the back foot but seems most comfortable fighting on the inside even versus smaller opponents. He has a good inside game for being only 11 fights in and this will help him a lot later in his career. I like how accurate he is when he throws especially on the inside and I also think he gets good torque on his punches to really dig them into his opponents. He normally gets on the front foot and then uses smart pressure and volume punching to break his opponents down. One of the things that I most like about him as a prospect is that he clearly wants to finish every opponent and hes got that mean streak that all great fighters have when they are in the ring.

His next fight is Thursday the 20th versus Gabino Cota in a fight where he should win but also gain some good experience as Cota has been in with a few good names and given them tough fights.

Teofimo Lopez , daring for greatness

Lopez has moved incredibly quickly since turning pro in 2016 and has amassed a 15-0 record with 12 knockouts. Whats even more impressive is that hes fought some good fighters in those 15 fights and become a world champion by beating a world champion not fighting for a vacant title. His win over Richard Commey was very impressive especially because he knocked him out in two rounds while the other two people that beat Commey did it on a split decision.

Lopez achieved all this by 22 so you might expect him to rattle off a few “easy” defences of his title before trying to unify or even move up a division. He isn’t doing this however as in just his 16th fight at 22 years old hes going to fight Lomachenko for effectively the undisputed lightweight championship of the world. Lomachenko is an amazing boxer and regarded by some people as the P4P best boxer on the planet. This speaks volumes about Lopez’s ambitions within the sport and also proves to me that he just wants to fight the best and create a legacy which is often a rare trait in modern boxers. I’ve become a fan of Lopez because hes not afraid to test himself and I think he deserves massive credit from the fans and media for taking the Loma fight so early in his career whether he wins or loses.

Apinun Khongsong the next man to face Josh Taylor

Khongsong is a 16-0 super lightweight from Thailand who is next in line to fight Josh Taylor as his IBF mandatory challenger. Khongsong is a big puncher with 13 of his 16 victories coming inside the distance. Theres not a huge amount of footage available on him but from what we can watch he looks like a capable fighter. 15 of his 16 fights have taken place in Thailand with his only other appearance taking place in Japan where he scored his most impressive victory over Akihiro Kondo by stopping him in the 5th round. This was an impressive victory because Kondo had challenged for a world title before versus Sergey Lipinets in 2017 where he was soundly beaten but went the distance. Khongsong was actually the first fighter to stop Kondo which makes his victory even more impressive.

Khongsong knocks Yosmar Kefi down with a right hand.

Khongsong fights behind a strong jab which he throws often and with intent. He doesn’t often double it up or go from head to body but he does bring it back quickly not leaving himself open for a counter. His favourite combination seems to be the one two which he throws with real power behind it. He knocked Yosmar Kefi down with it though in that instance it was almost a double jab then a right hand immediately which broke through Kefi’s guard. He boxes well off the back foot though doesn’t have a great inside game which may hurt him when he fights Taylor. He doesn’t just throw one twos though he’ll mix it up with hooks and lead upper cuts as well as working the body with a variety of punches. He isn’t the most elusive fighter and will be there to be hit by Taylor however Khongsong doesn’t mind getting into a bit of a fire fight and with the power he has its likely his best plan when he challenges Taylor. When in a clinch Khongsong uses his size to lean on his opponent and try to wear them down which is a trick mostly used by veterans of the sport not a 23 year old whos only been a pro for 3 years. His shot to KO Kondo was a perfectly timed counter when both went to punch and with his power it mean’t Kondo wasn’t beating the count.

Khongsong knocks Konda out with a perfectly timed shot.

I think Khongsong is a good fighter but the Josh Taylor fight is coming a little too soon for the 23 year old. He’s still to easy to hit and Taylor could work on the inside where Khongsong isn’t as good. Kondo in the last couple rounds of their fight was starting to time him and I can see Josh Taylor having the same success as the fight goes on. Khongsong has the ability to vary his attack but he is almost too comfortable throwing the same punches which is why he started to get timed. He could win the fight as he does have one hit KO power and if Josh Taylor gets too confident coming in he could time him like he did to finish Kondo. I think he’ll most likely lose but hes only 23 so he has plenty of time to improve and get another title shot.