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Godfrey at Crossroads June 10 Against Kayode

Published

13 years ago

June 2, 2011

Godfrey at Crossroads against Kayode

PROVIDENCE (June 2, 2011) – World cruiserweight title challenger Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey (20-2, 10 KOs) finds himself at the crossroads of his professional career, preparing for his June 10 10-round main event throw-down against undefeated, ultra-hyped Nigerian knockout artist Lateef “Power” Kayode for the vacant NABA title, live on ShoBox from Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California.

After being stopped for the first time in his career last August, when he unsuccessfully challenged World Boxing Organization champion Marco “Kapt’n” Huck in Germany, Godfrey was somewhat lost and confused as a promotional free agent. Matt put full trust in his manager, Brett Hallenbeck, who negotiated the fight against Kayode, switched Matt’s head trainer, and guided the Providence fighter into signing a contract with Rumble Time Promotions and DiBella Entertainment.

Kayode (16-0, 14 KOs), trained by living legend Freddie Roach, is rated in the top eight in the four major governing bodies: WBA #3, WBO #4, WBC #5 and IBF #8. “Fighting a top 10 fighter is a great opportunity for me to get back where I belong with the top cruiserweights in the world,” Godfrey said. “I needed to take this fight and then win it impressively on one of the biggest networks. A big win puts me in the top 10 and right back in the picture.

“I’m confident I can win against anybody I fight because I have all of the tools to beat the best. It’s just a matter or execution. I saw his (Kayode’s) last fight (in which he looked vulnerable against Nicholas Iannuzzi) and he was tested. But I’m expecting to be fighting him at his best, not like he looked in his last fight, because I know he’s been working on making those improvements. I don’t think his last fight, or mine, have any bearing on this fight. I can’t go back to my last fight. It’s like a quarterback who throws an interception. He can’t take that back out on the field and have it in his head. I can’t go into the ring for this fight thinking about Huck. That’s in my past.”

The 30-year-old Godfrey is a full-blooded Native American (Wampanoug) who was rated No. 10 by The Ring magazine before his fight with Huck. He has held a number of regional titles including the NABF, NABA, USNBC, WBA Continental Americas and Sovereign Nations Boxing Council. His most notable victories as a pro have been against Felix Cora, Jr, Danny Batchelder, Shaun George, Emmanuel Nwodo, Shawn Hawk, Ernest Mateen and Jermell Barnes.

Godfrey-Kayode is a classic match-up of contrasting styles with the consummate boxer taking on the powerhouse slugger.” My game plan is to box but things change sometimes when you get punched in the face,” Godfrey explained. “I realize what this fight means. I’m going in the ring to win this fight with my skills and experience. I will be in the best condition of my life – I guarantee that – and people are going to see the best of me.

“I’m not going to stay in the pocket with him all night, but I’m not going to stay away from him like everybody he’s fought. I have to adjust during the fight and not keep doing the same things over and over again. I’ll do some stuff that’s uncharacteristic for me and I’m going to try and make him do some uncharacteristic things, too.”

Years ago, Matt started boxing at Manfredo’s Gym in Pawtucket with “The Pride of Providence” Peter Manfredo, Jr., another world title challenger and star of The Contender, Season One reality television program, and 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada.

Godfrey is back training at Manfredo’s Gym. Peter Manfredo, Sr. is his assistant trainer, while Ross Enmait – also a top strength-and-conditioning coach – moved up from assistant to head trainer.

“I’ve been training with Ross the past three, four years,” Matt added. “I had been doing 60-percent of my training with him. So this is no big deal for us. He may be better known as a strength-and-conditioning coach, but he’s also been a good trainer for many years.”

Godfrey was an outstanding amateur boxer, culminating with a 194-23 record, and first alternate position as a heavyweight for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team. He captured six national championships (four open tournaments including the 2004 Everlast U.S. Championships, plus two in the Junior Olympics), a Bronze medal at the 2001 Pan-American Games, Silver Medalist in all four of that year’s national major tournaments – National Golden Gloves, PAL (Police Athletic League), U.S. Championships and U.S. Challenge – and reigned as a six-time New England Golden Gloves champion.

His amateur victims included several leading contemporary pros such as former WBA middleweight title challenger Randy “The Gentleman Griffin), Chazz “Mensa With Muscles” Witherspoon, Devin Vargas, Corey “Black Ice” Cummings, Leonard “Haitian Sensation” Pierre and John Johnson.

Now, however, Godfrey is at the crossroads with a monster looming in the opposing corner.

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

9 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

9 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

9 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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