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Who Is Vitali Foe Manuel Charr? TSS Tells You

CHARRBROILED IN COLOGNE : We all know about the snowball's chance.
Manuel Charr figures to be in for that type of pounding, proverbial inferno come September 8, when he faces Vitali Klitschko for a WBC belt that is far second to the established reputation Klitschko, the accessory's present holder, enjoys.
No big deal for Charr, who pursued the opportunity and jumped when it was presented. For the challenger, a current Koln transplant from Lebanon, the situation is far more danke than Dante.
“I am happy and grateful about getting this chance,” says Charr, 21-0 (11). “Some people do not think I am ready, but we will all see.”
Sometimes you have to go for it, ready or not. From what we've seen of Charr, he's definitely the type to go for it, even if he goes down in flames.
Klitschko is the mountain. Charr gets to play Sisyphus, with Klitschko's mitts playing the boulders. This is a fight with an over/under around two rounds. But there is also a very attractive up side in Charr's duking dilemma. If Charr manages a good showing, win or lose, he solidifies himself as a foundational attraction for his fledgling promotional endeavors.
Whether or not Charr is capable of such a showing remains a challenging question mark for the sloppy but sturdy slugger.
Skeptics assume Charr got the shot through a lack of perceived danger from K2 Promotions rather than mauling merit, a perfect, strong looking foil for what could be Klitschko's final fight. The real cause probably has to do with divisional attrition.
Charr's greatest asset seems to be self-confidence, the type esteem forged by honest hours in the gym. He has evolved from being a big plodder to a big attraction, with careful calculation in his strides.
So far in his career, the 27 year old Charr has done just about everything right in terms of advancing as a heavyweight since his 2005 debut. Only trouble is, when the call from K2 came, Charr was just arriving at the next step up stage of his career, the stage of facing experienced, “A” level fighters that would prepare him for a Klitschko fight.
The first time this observer saw Charr fight was on a June '09 Universum card in a city called Oberhausen. Charr scored a TKO 3 against overmatched Ramon Hayes, who came into the fight with a record of 15-27-1. I remember wondering just how many huge, ex-pat Eastern Euro heavyweight hopefuls there were in Germany, and if any of them were any good.
Charr was 11-0 at the time, unimpressive with victories coming over literal debutants like Nandor Kovacs or Radovan Kuca. Another heavyweight on the card, Denis Boytsov, blasted out very durable Taras Bydenko in six sessions. Boytsov looked like the heavyweight to watch in the future, but Charr has overtaken him as a potential contender.
The next time I saw Charr live was a couple summers later in June '11, when he scored a decent looking TKO 7 over worn but willing Danny Williams, who may not have much left in the tank, but remains a tough out. Charr had definitely improved, while other, more hyped heavyweights like Boytsov or Alexander Ustinov had stalled through injury, inactivity or both.
Probably the most noticeable improvement in Charr was his demeanor. He still has a long way to go with technique, but his confident mental state looks to be peaking. Following the very solid example of Felix Sturm, whose undercards Charr appeared on, Charr became the figurehead of his own “Diamond Boy” promotional company.
Charr's most recent fight, against Bydenko, was March 30th in Koln. Charr's first class promotion went down much smoother than his bruising, twelve round waltz with Bydenko. Charr's team put on a primo affair, in a luxury hotel ballroom with all tickets for a gourmet dinner show at around a three hundred dollar exchange rate. The main course was better than the main event, but Charr apparently injured his hand in the early going.
“I apologize that I could not give you a better show and a knockout,” a humbly engaging Charr said to the post fight crowd of around 440, many of whom seemed to be friends and family. “I can only promise to keep working hard and to earn a title fight for you.”
Koln has a sizeable and wealthy Mediterranean demographic so it seemed likely Charr would continue to build his promotional group with lucrative local shows while improving his skill set. Instead, he is making the big jump already.
Odds are heavily against the 6' 3 1/2 challenger, who is probably at least a 7 to 1 underdog, perhaps even 10 to 1 or more.
While its hard to imagine Charr toppling a K2 pillar, it isn't hard to believe he'll show up ready to give his all in the effort. Charr hasn't yet shown enough raw power to be given a “puncher's” chance, but he has demonstrated enough determination to have what we'll call a “chipper's” chance.
In other words, Charr will chip away at Klitschko little by little. Charr will keep coming at Klitschko, slowly, surely. The attack will not be furious or heavy handed. What it will be is steady, and how successful Charr's pressure will be should be clear quite quickly. If Charr is immediately forced to back up, the most likely probability, the bout won't go five frames.
But if Charr chugs through the initial danger zone and manages to land a solid combination in the early going, we could have a real fight.
Klitschko will be Klitschko, towering over Charr from a height around 6'7 to Charr's listed 6'3 1/2. Klitschko will fire straight-armed shots from underneath, long range uppercuts that have proved very effective as both a primary weapon and a positioning set up for Klitschko's booming right hands.
Charr has not really shown anything that defines championship potential except that he can push similar sized boxers around with his strength, and that he is durable.
Charr's square chin has never really been tested. It will be in Moscow.
“I know Vitali is a real champion and I have great respect for him. But I am going to make my fans proud and anyone who thinks I will give up easily will be very surprised. I know people think I do not have a chance, but what matters is what I believe.”
Charr seems more relaxed now that he's secured the Klitschko fight than he did before it was announced. Maybe the end of the rumbling rainbow is in sight.
Based on recent form, Klitschko looks like a lock for a quick KO, as the Kbros appear to be reaching extraordinary career zeniths around the same time.
Did Charr take the fight too early? Probably.
Does he have anything going for himself beside the often crucial intangibles of desire and belief? Probably not.
I don't like his chances, but I like him for that.
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Gabriela Fundora KOs Marilyn Badillo and Perez Upsets Conwell in Oceanside

It was just a numbers game for Gabriela Fundora and despite Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo’selusive tactics it took the champion one punch to end the fight and retain her undisputed flyweight world title by knockout on Saturday.
Will it be her last flyweight defense?
Though Fundora (16-0, 8 KOs) fired dozens of misses, a single punch found Badillo (19-1-1, 3 KOs) and ended her undefeated career and first attempt at a world title at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.
Fundora, however, proves unbeatable at flyweight.
The champion entered the arena as the headliner for the Golden Boy Promotion show and stepped through the ropes with every physical advantage possible, including power.
Mexico’s Badillo was a midget compared to Fundora but proved to be as elusive as a butterfly in a menagerie for the first six rounds. As the six-inch taller Fundora connected on one punch for every dozen thrown, that single punch was a deadly reminder.
Badillo tried ducking low and slipping to the left while countering with slashing uppercuts, she found little success. She did find the body a solid target but the blows proved to be useless. And when Badillo clinched, that proved more erroneous as Fundora belted her rapidly during the tie-ups.
“She was kind of doing her ducking thing,” said Fundora describing Badillo’s defensive tactics. “I just put the pressure on. It was just like a train. We didn’t give her that break.”
The Mexican fighter tried valiantly with various maneuvers. None proved even slightly successful. Fundora remained poised and under control as she stalked the challenger.
In the seventh round Badillo seemed to take a stand and try to slug it out with Fundora. She quickly was lit up by rapid left crosses and down she went at 1:44 of the seventh round. The Mexican fighter’s corner wisely waved off the fight and referee Rudy Barragan stopped the fight and held the dazed Badillo upright.
Once again Fundora remained champion by knockout. The only question now is will she move up to super flyweight or bantamweight to challenge the bigger girls.
Perez Beats Conwell.
Mexico’s Jorge “Chino” Perez (33-4, 26 KOs) upset Charles Conwell (21-1, 15 KOs) to win by split decision after 12 rounds in their super welterweight showdown.
It was a match that paired two hard-hitting fighters whose ledgers brimmed with knockouts, but neither was able to score a knockdown against each other.
Neither fighter moved backward. It was full steam ahead with Conwell proving successful to the body and head with left hooks and Perez connecting with rights to the head and body. It was difficult to differentiate the winner.
Though Conwell seemed to be the superior defensive fighter and more accurate, two judges preferred Perez’s busier style. They gave the fight to Perez by 115-113 scores with the dissenter favoring Conwell by the same margin.
It was Conwell’s first pro loss. Maybe it will open doors for more opportunities.
Other Bouts
Tristan Kalkreuth (15-1) managed to pass a serious heat check by unanimous decision against former contender Felix Valera (24-8) after a 10-round back-and-forth heavyweight fight.
It was very close.
Kalkreuth is one of those fighters that possess all the physical tools including youth and size but never seems to be able to show it. Once again he edged past another foe but at least this time he faced an experienced fighter in Valera.
Valera had his moments especially in the middle of the 10-round fight but slowed down during the last three rounds.
One major asset for Kalkreuth was his chin. He got caught but still motored past the clever Valera. After 10 rounds two judges saw it 99-91 and one other judge 97-93 all for Kalkreuth.
Highly-rated prospect Ruslan Abdullaev (2-0) blasted past dangerous Jino Rodrigo (13- 5-2) in an eight round super lightweight fight. He nearly stopped the very tough Rodrigo in the last two rounds and won by unanimous decision.
Abdullaev is trained by Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio.
Bakersfield prospect Joel Iriarte (7-0, 7 KOs) needed only 1:44 to knock out Puerto Rico’s Marcos Jimenez (25-12) in a welterweight bout.
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‘Krusher’ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’

At his peak, former three-time world light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev ranked high on everyone’s pound-for-pound list. Now 42 years old – he turned 42 earlier this month – Kovalev has been largely inactive in recent years, but last night he returned to the ring in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia, and rose to the occasion in what was billed as his farewell fight, stopping Artur Mann in the seventh frame.
Kovalev hit his peak during his first run as a world title-holder. He was 30-0-1 (26 KOs) entering first match with Andre Ward, a mark that included a 9-0 mark in world title fights. The only blemish on his record was a draw that could have been ruled a no-contest (journeyman Grover Young was unfit to continue after Kovalev knocked down in the second round what with was deemed an illegal rabbit punch). Among those nine wins were two stoppages of dangerous Haitian-Canadian campaigner Jean Pascal and a 12-round shutout over Bernard Hopkins.
Kovalev’s stature was not diminished by his loss to the undefeated Ward. All three judges had it 114-113, but the general feeling among the ringside press was that Sergey nicked it.
The rematch was also somewhat controversial. Referee Tony Weeks, who halted the match in the eighth stanza with Kovalev sitting on the lower strand of ropes, was accused of letting Ward get away with a series of low blows, including the first punch of a three-punch series of body shots that culminated in the stoppage. Sergey was wobbled by a punch to the head earlier in the round and was showing signs of fatigue, but he was still in the fight. Respected judge Steve Weisfeld had him up by three points through the completed rounds.
Sergey Kovalev was never the same after his second loss to Andre Ward, albeit he recaptured a piece of the 175-pound title twice, demolishing Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for the vacant WBO belt after Ward announced his retirement and then avenging a loss to Eleider Alvarez (TKO by 7) with a comprehensive win on points in their rematch.
Kovalev’s days as a title-holder ended on Nov. 2, 2019 when Canelo Alvarez, moving up two weight classes to pursue a title in a fourth weight division, stopped him in the 11th round, terminating what had been a relatively even fight with a hellacious left-right combination that left Krusher so discombobulated that a count was superfluous.
That fight went head-to-head with a UFC fight in New York City. DAZN, to their everlasting discredit, opted to delay the start of Canelo-Kovalev until the main event of the UFC fight was finished. The delay lasted more than an hour and Kovalev would say that he lost his psychological edge during the wait.
Kovalev had two fights in the cruiserweight class between his setback to Canelo and last night’s presumptive swan song. He outpointed Tervel Pulev in Los Angeles and lost a 10-round decision to unheralded Robin Sirwan Safar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Artur Mann, a former world title challenger – he was stopped in three rounds by Mairis Briedis in 2021 when Briedis was recognized as the top cruiserweight in the world – was unexceptional, but the 34-year-old German, born in Kazakhstan, wasn’t chopped liver either, and Kovalev’s stoppage of him will redound well to the Russian when he becomes eligible for the Boxing Hall of Fame.
Krusher almost ended the fight in the second round. He knocked Mann down hard with a short left hand and seemingly scored another knockdown before the round was over (but it was ruled a slip). Mann barely survived the round.
In the next round, a punch left Mann with a bad cut on his right eyelid, but the German came to fight and rounds three, four and five were competitive.
Kovalev had a good sixth round although there were indications that he was tiring. But in the seventh he got a second wind and unleashed a right-left combination that rolled back the clock to the days when he was one of the sport’s most feared punchers. Mann went down hard and as he staggered to his feet, his corner signaled that the fight should be stopped and the referee complied. The official time was 0:49 of round seven. It was the 30th KO for Kovalev who advanced his record to 36-5-1.
Addendum: History informs us that Farewell Fights have a habit of becoming redundant, by which we mean that boxers often get the itch to fight again after calling it quits. Have we seen the last of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev? We woudn’t bet on it.
The complete Kovalev-Mann fight card was live-streamed on the Boxing News youtube channel.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal

Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.
One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.
Take your pick.
The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.
Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.
Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.
If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.
He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.
During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.
Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.
Fundora
Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.
Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.
Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.
Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.
Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?
When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.
This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.
Commerce Casino
Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.
UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.
Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.
It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.
Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?
That’s a question for another day.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).
Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).
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