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Czar Glazkov Counts Down To Nov. 8

Published

9 years ago

October 30, 2014

Training Camp Notes: Glazkov With Family Safe and Sound and a Healed Hand, Glazkov Focused on Wilson

Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Ahead of his bout on the undercard of Hopkins-Kovalev on Nov. 8, Vyacheslav “Czar” Glazkov and his team reflected on his last outing. On Aug. 9,Glazkov defeated Derric Rossy via majority decision, but the fight was much closer than anyone predicted. At the moment Glazkov walked into the ring to face Rossy, he had not heard from his parents in war-torn Ukraine in over two weeks. Physically, his hand had been bothering him since his Mar. 15 battle with veteran Tomasz Adamek.

After the fight, Czar did not want to make excuses but said, “My hand was bothering me. It wasn’t broken, but it did not recover as well as I had hoped. It is not an excuse but it was still bothering me from my fight with Adamek.”

Since Aug. 9, Glazkov has had time to heal physically and emotionally. As the undefeated Ukrainian heavyweight prepares to face veteran heavyweight Darnell Wilson on Nov. 8 on the Hopkins-Kovalev undercard, the hand has greatly improved and the 30 year old knows his family is safe and sound. In fact, his father recently arrived in Ft. Lauderdale to visit Czar and his family at training camp. The elder Glazkov will also travel to Atlantic City, NJ for the fight to see his son take on Wilson.

According to Czar’s trainer, John David Jackson, the same trainer who works with WBO Light Heavyweight Champion and Main Events’ stable mate Sergey Kovalev, “The hand looks good. I can feel the difference when he throws it now. It is definitely a lot better for him at this stage of the camp.”

Jackson also said having Glazkov’s father at camp has helped with his concentration. “Knowing his family is OK has made it much easier for me because it relieves a lot of pressure from his mind,” explained Jackson. “Now that his dad is coming it will probably be good for him. He is in great spirits right now.”

Glazkov’s opponent, Darnell “Ding-A-Ling Man” Wilson, 40, from Miami, FL is coming off a stunning sixth round knockout over then-undefeated David Rodriquez at Resorts in Atlantic City on Dec. 14. Wilson’s KO of Rodriguez snapped a five-fight losing streak for Wilson, who has 45 career professional bouts.

Derik Santos, John David Jackson’s assistant trainer, was pleased that Glazkov came into camp already in shape, saying, “When he came back he was in pretty good shape. He said he had been swimming and running so he could let the hand relax. He was in great shape. He had already done eight rounds of sparring.”

“Czar’s jab is working well and he’s fighting a smaller opponent, so we will feel him out for the first few rounds,” explained Jackson. “We will focus on the body because he has a soft middle. We just have to watch out for him. It should be an interesting fight.”

According to Czar’s manager, Egis Klimas, “Training camp is going very well. We have good sparring with all different fighters. We have some guys that can move and some that can punch so Glazkov is prepared for this fight 100%. We are looking forward to seeing him in the ring on Nov. 8.”

“My hand is feeling much better,” added Glazkov. “I was able to rest it after the Rossy fight and now I am very excited to be on the big card in Atlantic City. John David Jackson and Derik Santos are helping me get ready for this fight.”

Main Events CEO Kathy Duva said, “Czar has been through so much this year. The fact that he got in the ring one month after just barely making it out of Ukraine and having to leave his parents behind is more telling of his character as a fighter and a man than what he did in the ring in August. I’m so happy to hear that things are better for him now because Darnell Wilson is a tough journeyman who scored a big upset in his last fight and is never an easy out.”

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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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