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Whitaker Psyched To Work With Judah

Published

11 years ago

February 18, 2011

The Sweet Science

Super Judah Promotions Logo Pernell Whitaker Conference Call Quotes

-Sweetpea and Kathy Duva Discuss Training Zab Judah-

Pernell Whitaker: “You can't even imagine the feelings I am having right now about this kid (Judah). He's like a student all over again, it's like re-teaching the guy some of the best things about himself. Nobody probably knows better than me, other than his father, about his fight game. It's been easy for me to give him the transformation to do all the things I know he can do very well, and to please the crowd.”

“Zab had a different mentality (before training with Whitaker). It's not Zab's style being a knock out artist and trying to prove that he could punch. He's a finesse fighter, he has probably the quickest hands in the sport and he has power. So he has to let all those things come together.”

“I'm a scientist now, I'm not a boxer, but I was a legend, I wasn't just a boxer. I knew the game from A to Z. You can come to me with your opinion, but I know the facts. So what I'm doing with this young man is giving him the facts. If I think something don't work, we won't do it. I don't take no risks, there's no carelessness.”

“I don't train guys to be like me, I help guys to do the things that work for them. If I can teach you how to hit and not get hit, then that's a blessing for you. Zab has the same abilities that I have but Zab still has to put it together and do it the way that Zab knows how to do it.”

“If the fight is scheduled 12 rounds, we're prepared to go 12 rounds. My job is to make sure he's ready to give you people 12 solid rounds. If anything less happens (rounds) that's just a tribute to his hard work.”

“I'm a defensive fighter. That's the first thing I'm going to remind him of, how to not get hit. That's the main goal. To hit and not get hit is a beautiful feeling.”

(What does Zab have to do to get to the top of his 140lb division?) “All he has to do is stay focused. He's transformed into something totally different than I've seen in old Zab. He's a new father, he has a beautiful family, he's into his church thing and his religion. He's just more settled down than the Zab that I've seen in the past. When he boxes the way he knows how to box, I can't see nobody in this division out-boxing Zab.”

“I think (in the past) the head butts have been his biggest downfall. He's been through a couple of those. So it's my main focus to keep his head out of there. Keep him out of trouble; keep him out of danger spots.”

“It's been a phenomenal 4 weeks so far with Zab. He's been looking me right in the eye cause he wants to know these things. He wants to get it down right. So now I'm gonna put all those things together; the finesse; the speed; and the power that he does have. I want to put all three of those things together into one and let him work it out March 5^th. What you're gonna get this time is some good boxing, some great defense and a good jab.”

“I haven't seen anything exciting in the sport in a long time, but I know I will on March 5^th when I see this young man (Judah) go out there and do 'me' all over again. You're gonna see Zab Judah perform out there.”

Kathy Duva compared working with Zab in the past to working with Zab now: “Wow, it's completely different and yet in some ways it's the same. He's still got the energy and he's still fun, but he's so much more grown up now. He's a grown man. It's very different in that respect. Before that we were literally trying to corral him. We were dealing with a teenager and now we're dealing with a guy who knows who he is, what he wants, where he's going and sees what he has to do to get there. It's a wonderfully different experience in that respect.”

Kathy Duva added, “Now, having brought Pernell into the picture, it's one of those moments where we say 'why didn't we think of this earlier?' Still when you send them to camp you really don't know what's going to happen, but I heard Zab speaking today and you can hear it in his voice. He's got so much more confidence. He's so on top of it. He referred to how, in the gym yesterday everything came together all at once. I know that anyone who has to learn something difficult realizes that that's how you learn. You struggle for a while and then suddenly everything clicks into place. When I heard him say that, it just made my day that means it really is working. I can't wait to see him fight.”

The March 5th card featuring Zab “Super” Judah vs. Kaizer Mabuza for the IBF World Jr. Welterweight title is promoted by Main Events and Super Judah Promotions. An exciting undercard will also feature Sadam “Worldkid” Ali, as well as Tarvis Simms and 5 other local standouts. The fights will take place at Prudential Center's AmeriHealth Pavilion, Newark, NJ.

Doors open at 7:30pm; first fight 8:00pm. Tickets priced at $253 Ringside, $103 Reserved seating on floor, $88 General Admission in Bleachers and $53 GA Standing Room on floor. Tickets on sale 2/5, available at Prudential Center Box Office, by calling TicketMaster at 800-745-3000 or www.Prucenter.com

Judah vs. Mabuza will be distributed in North America by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 9 PM/ET 6 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay per view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, Avail-TVN and DISH Network in the United States, as well as Viewer's Choice, Shaw and Bell TV in Canada, for a suggested retail price of only $29.95

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

6 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

6 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

6 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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