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Please Put Michael Oliveira On Your Prospect Watch List….WOODS

Published

10 years ago

March 22, 2011

Michael_Oliveira_hooded Boxing in Brazil got a nice pop when Acelino “Popo” Freitas spent some time in the sun, and redirected a portion of the attention of the soccer-made nation to the prizefight ring. Freitas was a super featherweight champion from 1999-2004, and won lightweight belts in 2004 and 2006. He exited the game following a loss to Juan Diaz in 2007, with a 38-2 mark.

There's a young man born in Brazil currently living in Miami, Michael Oliveira, who has designs on achieving a Freitas-level of success in the realm of pugilism. The 20-year-old Oliveira has already made immense inroads, a bit shocking since the 13-0 prospect had just two amateur fights under his belt. But Oliveira, who fights as a super middleweight, and gloves up in his native Brazil on March 25th, was named Brazil's athlete of the year in 2009 and 2010. No small feat, considering he beat out Helio Castroneves, Nene, Anderson Varejao and MMAer Anderson Silva, who is considered the best of his breed.

TSS chatted with the soft-spoken Oliveira, who mixes a humble style with a strong attitude of ambition and confidence.

He explained his goal of lifting boxing's profile in Brazil, where he lived for 15 months before his parents moved to the US.

“I fought there my last fight, and now this one, against Abel “El Principito” Nicolas Adriel, for the Interim World Boxing Council Latino Super Middleweight Championship,” he said. “I'm trying to change people's vision of boxing in Brazil. But I do still want to fight in the US, it's where I live.

“People in Brazil don't know too much about boxing. It's soccer…and soccer…and soccer! I'm trying to bring boxing back.”

He's going about it the right way. Oliveira is dedicating his upcoming bout to a little boy named Dennis, just six years old, who can't walk and has speech issues. The boxer and his dad Carlos, who manages him, heard about Dennis, and how he didn't have access to surgery he needed to fix ligaments in his legs, so he could walk. The Oliveiras paid for the surgery, and Dennis will appear at the title fight. “Dennis told me, 'I wish I could do what you do.' That helps me see how lucky I am not to have any physical problems. And it helps me stay motivated, a kid like that, purely innocent.”

The fight against Adriel will be shown live in Brazil on TV Globo, the third largest TV network in the world, and on replay in the States. We'll be able to assess Oliveira, see if what we've been hearing is true, that he's been able to accelerate to this level because of an excess of athleticism. The boxer says he sees himself having a mega-marquee bout–maybe against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr?–by the end of next year. “But things change so quickly in boxing,” he said. “So I'm willing to face anyone.”

If and when Oliveira is able to reach Freitas-level popularity, he should easily be able to branch out, into my milieu. A diet book, How To Box The Pounds Off, or something to that effect, would make infinite sense. You see, Oliveira weighed 250 pounds when he was 15 years old, and trimmed the flab off in the gym.

Let's put this guy on our short watch list of TSS Prospects to Watch, shall we, off his rapid rise, his ambition and desire to improve and excel, and his heart and conscience.

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Michael Woods

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

5 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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Articles

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

Published

5 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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Articles

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

Published

5 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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