Articles

Sergey Kovalev To Face Blake Caparello Aug. 2

Published

10 years ago

June 14, 2014

Sergey Kovalev is a certified badass, a terminator type with pop in both hands, and the possessor of a sincere desire to separate his foe’s head from his shoulders every minute of every round.

Getting opponents for him in the last year or so is getting harder, but Main Events has managed to get someone to sign on the dotted line to fight the 24-0-1 (22 KOs; age 31) Russian, on August 2, at Revel in Atlantic City.

Aussie lefty Blake Caparello (19-0, with 6 KOs; age 27), promoted by Lou DiBella, has been chomping at the bit to get this opportunity, and it has been granted.

HBO will televise this scrap, as part of a tripleheader, on a “Boxing After Dark.” Two of the BAD fights will unfold in las Vegas.

Promoter DiBella told TSS that he thinks his kid has many traits which could prove troubling for the slugger. “It’s a tough fight, he took it for very low money, but he’s wanted this fight since before I signed him,” DiBella said. “He’s not a big puncher, but unless you’re a very good puncher with one-punch type of power, you won’t beat Kovalev…the kind of guy who can beat him is a guy who can really box.” Caparello can and will jab, move, be busy, throw more than the light heavy average, and will land a lot, said DiBella. “He’s been dying for this fight.

“I think he will be competitive. Cedric Agnew didn’t throw punches but he showed (in his fight against Kovalev on March 29, a KO7 win) that if you can box and move you can hang with Kovalev. And Blake is a much better boxer than Agnew.

“He’s not getting rich on it, he needs to win to get where wants to be,” DiBella continued.

Caparello’s desire to have this fight get made says something to his promoter. “If I’m a fighter, Kovalev is not a guy I’m screaming to fight, but if confidence means anything I give this kid a great chance. His trainer wanted it badly too..I think some people will think they are out of their minds,” he continued, chuckling.

DiBella said his kid didn’t earn rave reviews fighting on ESPN Jan. 31, but he showed he can win every minute of every round, and a complete grasp of fundamentals against Elvir Muriqi (UD10 win.) Teddy Atlas, DiBella said, stated that he’d like to see more of the Aussie on that night, and graded him a B plus.

Dibella knows Kovalev is a tough nut to crack and isn’t venturing too far out onto the limb, but he does think his guy will offer solid competition, and could perhaps pull off a shocker upset.

I checked in with Caparello, and he told me, “Go against the trend, Mike, and back Caparello, I’m gonna shock everyone! I’m very sure of myself. I will eliminate his power.”

I wondered, does he have to box a masterpiece to beat Krusher? “I’m going to box a matserpiece,” he declared.

Here is the official release sent out by Main Events:

Krusher Returns to Atlantic City August 2 to Defend his WBO Light Heavyweight World Title

Atlantic City, NJ: Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KOs), the undefeated Russian Wrecking Ball, returns to HBO Boxing After Dark and Atlantic City onAugust 2nd to defend his WBO Light Heavyweight World Title against undefeated Blake “Il Capo” Caparello (19-0-1, 6 KOs) at Revel Casino Hotel.

Kovalev, 31, originally from Chelyabinsk, Russia and now residing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, will defend his WBO title for the third time since taking it by force from Nathan Cleverly in a four round TKO victory in Cleverly’s hometown of Cardiff, Wales on August 17, 2013. Renowned for his ability to knockout anyone who dares to step in the ring with him, Krusher has an astonishing 91% knockout-to-win ratio. This will be his fourth fight on HBO and his second in Atlantic City.

“Krusher”

Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events

“I am happy to be back in the ring on August 2nd and thanks to HBO for offering us the date. Looking forward to face an unbeaten fighter, I know he will be coming to fight and to take my title away, but it belongs to me and I won’t let that happen,” said Kovalev. “I already started my preparation for this bout and will be ready in good condition when time comes to step into ring.” “It is great to be back on HBO. It is the best place to showcase Sergey’s talents,” said John David Jackson, Sergey’s trainer. He added, “It is difficult to find an opponent to step in the ring with Sergey. Hopefully this Australian kid can step up to the plate. We are here to put on a show for the public. We know he is going to be a tough opponent but Sergey is up to the challenge.” Egis Klimas, Kovalev’s manager added, “We can’t wait to see Sergey in the ring again and hope for his victory with his third defense. He is building a fan base in Atlantic City and an audience on HBO. According to ratings on HBO from his last fight, many people want to see him in the ring. I am happy that he is becoming more popular with every bout – not only in Russia, but also here in US.”

Kovalev vs. Agnew

Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events

Australia’s Caparello, 27, will be the third undefeated opponent who has put their “0” on the line against Kovalev since last August. While Caparello is not known as a knockout artist, he has far more experience in later rounds than the champion. “Il Capo” has gone the distance in 14 out of 20 fights and has been passed the eighth round nine times in his career. Because Kovalev knocked out almost all of his opponents, he has never fought past the eighth. Caparello said, “I would like to thank my promoter DiBella Entertainment, the WBO, Main Events and HBO for giving me this opportunity. I’m ready for this fight, you ain’t seen nothing yet. I won’t disappoint.”

Main Events’ CEO Kathy Duva said, “We would love for Sergey to fight all of the marquee names that have been avoiding him but they’re obviously afraid. So kudos to Caparello for stepping up! Sergey really is a fighter first. He just wants to be in the ring all the time, testing himself against the best. We are very grateful for the support we’ve gotten from HBO for Kovalev and our plan for him is to continue to fight the best opponent who’s willing to get in the ring.”

“Il Capo”

Photo Courtesy of DiBella Entertainment

Lou DiBella, of DiBella Entertainment, Caparello’s promoter added, “Kovalev is one of boxing’s hardest punchers, but Blake Caparello is one of the best pure boxers in the 175 lb. division. This is a classic matchup between boxer and puncher and Blake has the skills to give Kovalev fits.”

Main Events’ matchmaker, Jolene Mizzone, can attest that finding opponents to face Krusher is never easy. She said, “The great thing about matching Sergey is he will fight ANYONE, anytime, anywhere. Caparello is a southpaw boxer who has the ability to outsmart a straight forward-type of puncher like Sergey. Caparello is undefeated and hungry which makes him a dangerous opponent. If Caparello can take Sergey’s power, then he could last longer than people might think.”

Blake Caparello

Photo Courtesy of DiBella Entertainment

About Kovalev vs. Caparello : The WBO Light Heavyweight World Championship between Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, (24-0-1, 22 KOs) and Blake “Il Capo” Caparello (19-0-1, 6 KOs) is onSaturday, August 2nd at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic, City, NJ. The fight will be telecast as part of a split-site triple-header on HBO Boxing After Darkbeginning at 9:45 PM ET/PT. The event is presented by Main Events in association with DiBella Entertainment. Ticket information will be released shortly.

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Michael Woods

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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