Articles

Fury on Cunningham: “I Will Knock Him Out”

Published

8 years ago

April 1, 2013

fury vs. cunningham, april 20, main events GATINEAU, Quebec, Canada (April 1, 2013) – The worldwide branding campaign of undefeated Irish Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury (20-0, 14 KOs) has crossed the Atlantic Ocean and is set to explode on Saturday afternoon, April 20, as the imposing 6' 9″. 250-pound Irish-Mancunian makes his United States debut against two-time world champion Steve “USS” Cunningham (25-5, 12 KOs) in New York City.

Fury vs. Cunningham headlines an exciting event, co-promoted by Main Events and Hennessy Sports, which will air live (4 p.m. ET start) on NBC from The Theater at Madison Square Garden, as part of a special two-hour afternoon presentation of NBC's Fight Night boxing series.

The 12-round Fury vs. Cunningham main event is an official International Boxing Federation (IBF) Heavyweight Voluntary Eliminator for the No. 2 position, showcasing No. 8-rated Fury versus No. 12-ranked Cunningham.

“All of the top heavyweights in the world need Americans to watch them fight and that's why I'm making my U.S. pro debut in New York City for all Americans to see on national television,” the charismatic Fury said from his Canadian training camp at beautiful Casino Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Quebec. “You can't put the Klitschkos in the same category as me. Nobody outside of the Ukraine and Germany care anything about them. They fought a few times in America. Wladimir fought a real stinker in Madison Square Garden (DEC12 vs. Sultan Ibragimov on Feb. 23, 2008).

“I was supposed to fight in America a few times but they fell out for different reasons. We needed good television, a good arena, and good opponent. Now's the right time; we have all that.”

Fury, also rated No. 4 by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and No. 6 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), has green running through his veins. His Irish Traveller family has a long history in boxing, dating back to the 1880's bare-knuckles days of his great grandfather, Tiger Gorman, and his uncle, Bartley “King of the Bare Knuckles” Gorman. His father, “Gypsy” John Fury, the man who named his son after Mike Tyson, was also a prize-fighter in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

As an amateur boxer, Tyson represented both England and Ireland because his father is from Galway, and grandmother (on his mother's side) hails from Belfast. It's not a coincidence that his promoter, Mick Hennessy, is marketing his star on the East Coast of the U.S., where the largest groups of Irish immigrants and Irish-Americans live in New York City, Boston and Philadelphia.

“I am the Irish Heavyweight Champion and there's never been another like me,” the often outspoken Fury explained. “The Irish love real fighters, like me, who always say it like it is. I like to fight and I'm looking forward to fighting in front of so many Irish fans in New York City and watching across the states on NBC.”

Cunningham, fighting out of Philadelphia, represents a clear and present danger, unquestionably the stiffest challenge of the 24-year-old Fury's relatively young professional career. Cunningham has nearly had as many world title fight rounds (95) as Fury has total rounds fought (105).

“Cunningham is a good boxer and world champion who fought in different countries,” Fury concluded. “He's a small (203lbs. in last fight) heavyweight who will come in with a good game plan and strategy. I anticipate him running but, sooner or later, I will catch him and knock him out. If he runs, I hope the fans boo him out of the arena. He's going to have to fight me. I'm coming to fight and put on a show.”

One of Fury's Hennessy Sports stable-mates, heavyweight Hughie Fury (1-0, 1 KO) is also scheduled to fight on the April 20 card.

Tyson's 18-year-old cousin, 6' 8'', 235-pound, Hughie, won his impressive pro debut by second-round knockout last Friday in Montreal.

“I can't wait until April 20th as I know Tyson is going to shake up the world of heavyweight boxing, he's in phenomenal shape and I know he is going to make a huge statement on his US debut.” Mick Hennessy said.

APRIL 20TH FIGHT INFO:

April 20th at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York features a 12-round heavyweight battle between Tyson Fury and Steve Cunningham in the main event. Curtis Stevens will take on Derrick Findley in the 8-round middleweight co-feature. Six additional bouts are planned for the undercard. The Theater at Madison Square Garden doors open at 1:15 PM. The main event and co-feature will be broadcast 4PM ET on NBC as a special 2 hour afternoon presentation of NBC Sports Fight Night. The card is presented by Hennessy Sports and Main Events.

Tickets are priced at $25, $50, $100, $250 and $500. Tickets are available at the Madison Square Garden box office, through Ticketmaster 866-858-0008 and at ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices include a $5 Facility Surcharge. Ticketmaster purchases are subject to a Ticketmaster Surcharge. Wheelchairs, companion seats, aisle seats and Assistive Listening Devices are available 212-465-6035.

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The Sweet Science

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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