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Adrien Broner’s Shoulder Roll vs. Carlos Molina’s California Pressure Style

Published

11 years ago

May 1, 2014

One fight gathering steam is former world champion Adrien Broner’s clash with Southern California’s Carlos Molina.

The two junior welterweights from different parts of the country are coming off losses and looking to claim a spot among the top 140-pounders in the world.

Molina (17-1-1, 7 Kos) has not fought in more than a year and Broner (27-1, 22 Kos) last fight was in December. They meet on Saturday May 3, at the MGMGrand Garden Arena in a 10-round fight for the pure reward of respectability.

“Beating Broner I’m right back there at the top of the mix with the elite fighters. He’s a great fighter and everybody knows who he is, so beating AdrienBroner, I’ll be right there getting ready for a title fight,” said Molina, 28, of Norwalk, Calif.

The last time Molina stepped in between the ropes he was matched against United Kingdom’s speedy Amir “King” Khan at the Los Angeles Sports Arena onDecember 2012. Right from the beginning the oldest of the Molina brothers was under water with a bad cut on his eye from Khan’s slashing blows. Eventuallythe fight was stopped in the 10th round but Molina was glad he tasted the elite class. It’s where he’s always wanted to be.

“I was excited man when they said there’s a possibility you might fight Broner. Wow, I’m back in the mix with the elite fighters, that’s very motivatingfor me,” said Molina who is managed by Frank Espinoza.

Broner has world titles in the junior lightweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions. That’s quite an accomplishment when you meet him in person. He’sa wee guy who uses his boxing skills and quickness appropriately to compensate for his small frame. He’s dropping down to junior welterweight a divisionmore suited for him than the welterweights. His loss to Marcos Maidana helped drive him toward the move.

“People want to know if the loss (against Maidana) has humbled me and of course it has. If I would have won that Maidana fight people would be calling mean asshole. People still call me that, but now I thank God that he slowed me down in my tracks even though it is still a heavy and fast train. Right now,Denzel Washington couldn’t stop this train,” says Broner, 24.

A previous fight against Paul Malignaggi who at the time held the WBA welterweight world title showed that the weight class was a bit much. It alsoprovided a blue print on how to attack the shoulder roll style of defense the Cincinnati fighter employs.

Molina’s aggressive Southern California style will be matched against Broner’s shoulder roll it should prove engaging.

“I don’t think I’ve fought anyone in the pros that does the shoulder roll. Maybe in the amateurs. I’ve been sparring with some guys that do the shoulderroll and were getting pretty comfortable with it. It’s a matter of just adapting to it, getting used to it I guess,” said Molina.

Broner expects Molina to come full force when they meet on Saturday.

“Carlos Molina is a hell of a fighter and he is going to come to fight. He’s going to come to kick my ass because I’m sure as hell going to come to kickhis,” said Broner.

Molina knows it’s a critical fight in his career and one that can open the door to more great fights.

“I’ve got to be smart. And utilize the same skills that Maidana and Malignaggi, all those guys were doing,” Molina said.

Broner and Molina are opposites in many ways, but each need a win to escape a lynch pin to future goals.

“You never know what to expect from an opponent until you hit that ring, but I can tell you that I will be victorious and it will be in a spectacular way”Broner said.

Molina agrees that every fight has its own surprises.

“You always learn from different fights. We did see some weaknesses in Broner and we plan to show that on May 3,” Molina said.

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David A. Avila

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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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