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Geale Psyched For US Debut, Aug. 17, in AC

Published

11 years ago

July 31, 2013

NEW JERSEY (July 31, 2013) – Ever since Daniel Geale (29-1, 15 KOs) pulled off the unthinkable by defeating Felix Sturm on Sturm’s home turf of Germany in September of last year, Geale has essentially cemented himself as one of the elite 160 pounders in boxing. With the prestige and pageantry associated with such esteem comes the responsibility of self-improvement, a trait that often associates itself with the kind of high caliber athlete with an obsession for competition. It wasn’t enough for Geale to take a bite out of the world stage nor was it completely satisfying when he became the No. 1 fighter in his home country of Australia.

That is why Geale is thrilled to have his next fight scheduled on U.S. soil. Immediately following his victory over Strum, Geale made it apparent that he had all intentions to make a name for himself in America, but had unfinished business in Australia with Anthony Mundine, in which he scored a unanimous decision victory. He is still adamant about growing his brand in

This American campaign begins August 17th when Geale defends his middleweight crown for the 5th time against England’s Darren Barker (25-1, 16 KOs) at the Revel Casino-Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ. The middleweight clash will air live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark and will act as the main event for a scheduled split-site tripleheader, which features Jhonatan Romero vs. Kiko Martinez for the IBF Junior Featherweight title and Nathan Cleverly vs. Sergey Kovalevfor the WBO light heavyweight title.

“I’m extremely excited to be making my U.S. debut. I think it’s the next logical step for me right now. I know how talented I am and I know how great I can be but sometimes winning fights isn’t enough. You have to be prepared to go the extra mile. Fighting in the U.S. has been on my radar for the past year or two, and now I get to fight in front of the great U.S. fans on the greatest boxing network in the United States against a truly worthy opponent,” Geale said.

This seems like the perfect moment to come over to the States with so many great middleweights fighting Stateside, but in order to continue up the ranks Geale is going to have to get past a tough competitor in Barker. The style matchup suggests that U.S. fans are in for an incredible night of boxing and Geale prefers the kind of fight that will get the attention of the market he’s venturing into.

“This is a great opportunity for me because I can show a new group of fight fans my talents and the fight will almost definitely produce the kind of fireworks that will have every fan clambering to have me back,” Geale continued. “I can gain a lot of credibility with this one fight. Barker is that kind of fighter.”

It would appear as though Gary Shawwaited for the perfect opportunity to get Geale a fight in the US and this is it. Geale realizes that he had to be careful deciding what fight would work best and he knows how fortunate he is to have Shaw on his side.

“I’m so grateful that Grange old school boxing decided to start working with Gary Shaw as my international promoter. Gary is doing such a tremendous job for me. I don’t think there are many people that could’ve done a better job at finding the right opportunity for me and Gary did it with so much confidence. He always seemed sure and I can see that he knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He did his job about to perfection, but come August 17th it’s my turn,” Geale said.

Shaw seems to share Geale’s sentiments and believes that he can be the very best in the world.

“I have to first thank Garrie Francisco and Bill Treacyof Grange Old School Boxing for allowing me the opportunity to work with Daniel Geale,” said Shaw. “Together we are working as a team to get Geale the best opportunities in boxing. They have done a great job of getting Geale ready for the world stage and I’m very thrilled to be working with such great people.

Its refreshing working with other promoters like Grange Old School boxing and guys like Daniel because he is a no-nonsense kind of fighter and he isn’t afraid to take on anybody. This is a tough sport and it is always a true test of character when you step into the ring, but even if you aren’t genuine you can still talk the talk and fool people for years. Daniel is a different breed of fighter.

Tickets prices start at $30 and are on sale now at all Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com and by calling 1-800-745-3000. The HBO Boxing After Dark telecast will begin at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT.

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The Sweet Science

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

8 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

8 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

8 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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