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Canelo Sees Cotto Fight As 50-50 Fight
MEXICAN SUPERSTAR CANELO REFUSES TO LOOK PAST WORLD CHAMPION COTTO AS HE PREPARES FOR ‘50-50’ MEGAFIGHT LIVE ON BOXNATION THIS SATURDAY NIGHT
LONDON (17 Nov) – Boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez has refused to look too far ahead as he prepares for his ’50-50’ fight with WBC middleweight world champion Miguel Cotto.
The stacked 160-pound division is brimming with talent including WBA and IBF knockout king Gennady Golovkin, WBO champion Andy Lee who defends his title against the undefeated Billy Joe Saunders, with Daniel Jacobs set to take on former champion Peter Quillin.
The victors are expected to face each other to determine who is the undisputed number one at the weight but Mexican ace Canelo knows he has it all to do against the legendary Cotto in an edge-of-the-seat BoxNation thriller exclusively live this Saturday night.
“I am 100% focused on this fight. My focus is winning this fight – it’s very important. Whatever happens after this fight, will happen after this fight, but this is my primary focus,” said Canelo.
“The only thing that I am focused on is Saturday night. Once this fight is over, we will determine which direction we will go.
“This is a very difficult fight – it’s a 50/50 fight. I’m here, I’m ready to win, and I’m willing to win. All my fights are necessary to win,” he said.
The bout represents one of boxing’s most anticipated fights this year with both men renowned for their exciting all-action styles.
They have a common opponent in pound-for-pound hotshot Floyd Mayweather, with four-weight world champion Cotto having given the unbeaten star a tougher night when they met back in 2012, something which will have no bearing on this fight according to Canelo.
“You know what, that doesn’t affect me [people saying Cotto did better]. Styles make fights. He may have done better – Cotto might have done better against Mayweather. However, I did better against Austin Trout, and Cotto didn’t do that good against Austin Trout,” Canelo said.
“All fights are different, all styles are different, so that’s not going to affect me at all.
“All of my fights I learned something. There are some important fights, there are some difficult fights, but with all these combined fights you gain experience, and with that experience I’m going to display that on Saturday night,” he said.
Canelo goes into the fight with just that solitary loss on his record to Mayweather having accumulated 45 wins, including 32 knockouts, at just 25 years of age.
The former unified light-middleweight champion will have the chance to become a two-weight world champion against the Puerto Rican Cotto in what is his most significant fight since he shared the ring with Mayweather.
“I’m not worried about the pressure. I am more concerned with the motivation. I am training. I’ve had a lot of fights, and I’ve learned a lot,” said Canelo
“Both of the fights [Mayweather and Cotto] are important. They’re in a different division. The one with Mayweather was for the unification of pound-for-pound, and now this is at a different weight division, so it’s important also.
“Plus, this is Mexico versus Puerto Rico, and more importantly I’m motivated and inspired and looking forward to Saturday.
“It’s going to be a great fight. The styles will accommodate to ensure that. If the knockout comes, it comes, if it doesn’t, I’m prepared for whatever happens in the ring,” he said.
Cotto vs. Canelo is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD, Virgin 525, TalkTalk 415, online or app) this Saturday night. Visit boxnation.com to subscribe.
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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura
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
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
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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