Jim Lampley Talks Froch-Kessler II, The New Landscape, “The Fight Game,” More

Published

7 years ago

May 21, 2013

Jim Lampley is like all of us, in that he is a boxing fan. It so happens that he operates on something of a higher mental plane than most of us, I dare say, and it’s because of his ability to reason at a lofty zone that I enjoy picking his brain every now and again, getting an extra dose of his analysis apart from his time on HBO’s fights and his periodic “The Fight Game” half hour magazine show.

I chatted with Lampley on Monday for a spell, getting his take on HBO’s forthcoming slate, and the state of the game as a whole, especially pertaining to the bifurcated landscape which was fashioned when HBO decided eight weeks ago to spurn content provided by promoter Golden Boy.

First off, Lampley seemed jazzed about HBO’s Saturday super middleweight scrap, which pits Carl Froch, the cocky Brit who has enjoyed a remarkable late-career uptick in popularity and regard from fans who appreciate his take-on-all-comers attitude and offensive-minded in-ring style, in a rematch against the 34-year-old Dane Mikkel Kessler who enters with more to prove, having battled the injury bug in recent years. The show, to unfold at the O2 Arena, kicks off at 6 PM ET.

“It’s a great fight,” Lampley told me. “The first fight (which took place on April 24, 2010, and saw Kessler win a UD12) was a high intensity battle fought at a very entertaining pace, and if anything both are now more offensive minded than before. I think we’ll see even better action in this fight. They’ve both moved on a bit…Froch has improved as an attacking offensive fighter and Kessler has suffered injuries, is in his middle 30s, so at this stage they’re both a little more effective at finding targets than in defending. I’m not saying it’ll be the Thrilla in Manilla, they’re not that far along but as Pacquiao and Marquez produced fireworks, because both have reached points where certain styles are dictated, the same thing is true here.”

Froch is actually 35, and turns 36 in July, whereas Kessler just turned 34 in March, but I tend to think of Kessler as the elder in this one, because he has battled highly-publicized injuries. He had to exit the “Super Six” super middle tourney because of an injured left eye, you’ll recall. He said the eye bothered him getting ready for Andre Ward in November 2009 (he lost that fight via TD11), and even more in his next fight, against Froch, in Denmark. He had to pull out of his next scheduled bout, against Allan Green, and let it heal.

Kessler returned to the ring and beat Mehdi Bouadla (TKO6) in June 2011. He hurt his right hand in training and a Nov. 2011 match with Robert Stieglitz was cancelled. Kessler next beat Green in May 2012. In his last outing, he stopped Brian Magee (TKO3), last December. It appears he enters this fight, to take place in London, injury-free.

“This year has produced tremendous fights for followers of the cult,” Lampley continued. “And we have this to look forward to as well.”

The play by play man, who joined HBO in 1988, said he’s found lots of folks are liking Froch to win this rematch, a slight surprise since typically people lean toward the guy who won the first encounter.

As for the stakes, he noted that the division is held in a lockdown, of sorts, by Andre Ward. “The nature of Ward’s fights with both Froch and Kessler means there’s not a demand to see a rematch with either, so if the Saturday fight is great, there is a greater likelihood that we see them fight for a third time,” he said. That could change, he supposed, if Ward expressed a desire to travel to London or Denmark to meet Froch or Kessler again.

I asked Lampley to put on his matchmaker hat, and choose a course for Ward, while on the subject of the man who will be in the booth with him and Max Kellerman in London. “That’s a hard question,” he said. “He says he’ll be at 168 for now, not 175, and unless a new force arrives at 168, we have emerging prospects at 175, in Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev. We’d like to maybe see Ward against either of them. But at 168, there is the same opponent pool as before, and I can’t see what unlocks that puzzle.” Me neither, unless this Stanyslav Kastantov is a real comer, a hidden gem.

I figured I’d ask Lampley for some of that big-picture widsom he dispenses on “Fight Game.”

How do you reckon, I wondered, how it has gone so far with HBO turning their noses up at Golden Boy and Al Haymon content, and Showtime doing their thing with Floyd Mayweather pulling their train? Have the fans suffered for it?

“As an advocate for the sport I look forward to the day the pay premium networks do business with all promoters, and put aside the war that’s ongoing,” he said. “I think my network, HBO, made a very intelligent decision in deciding not to do business with a promoter who was priming business for the other premium cable channel. I don’t disagree with the management decision to not do business with one promoter. In this polarized world, a small edge goes to Showtime on a week by week basis,” he graciously stated.

Lampley thinks it is entirely possible that HBO and fans get graced with another rumble which will build on the fights the net furnished earlier, Rios-Alvarado, and Bradley-Provodnikov. “There’s room in the marketplace,” Lampley said, “and I’m happy with what we’ve had but I can’t dismiss and will pay credit to what’s going on across the street. Watching Lucas Matthysse was fun. I’m a fight fan, too. The fans have been getting their moneys worth, and for the time-being, can’t complain too much about the arrangement. But I do long for the day and anticipate both networks doing business with all promoters. I think that day will come back.”

Still looking down the road, Lampley said he will put together a “Fight Game” June 29, following the Golovkin-Macklin card. “That fight should be phenomenally entertaining, it’s going to be a war,” he said.

Does he know what will be on the next “Fight Game?” “The nature of the live shows in that format means the show tends to come together five or six days before,” he said. “But we know it’ll be a good one.”

Lampley said he is also looking forward to seeing if Adonis Stevenson can emerge, and demand our attention; he fights Chad Dawson June 8 in Montreal, and on HBO. I told him I’d be happy, from a good-for-the-sport perspective, to see Stevenson perform emphatically at the Bell Centre. He agreed. “That would be good for the sport in the sense that you know Dawson, what he can do, there’s not a lot of discovery left. Emanuel Steward used to talk about Adonis and say very, very complimentary things. I think we have a chance in a year, year and a half to have a spectacular showdown between Stevenson and Kovalev, the most entertaining fight in that class we’ve had in some time.”

And wouldn’t it be great, as another homage to Steward, who trained and managed Stevenson, to have the guy excel, and be another flourish on the Steward ledger? “I agree,” Lampley said. “We had one wonderful moment with an Emanuel protege, when Jonathan Banks beat Seth Mitchell. The ether with Emanuel hasn’t dissipated yet, and there could be more to come.

“Then we have Mikey Garcia, I’m looking forward to see him continue his career against a most entertaining boxer, Juan Manuel Lopez, that’s not a paint job, it’ll be an all out war. That’s not a defensive tussle, that’s a fan-friendly, offensive show. Then the Golovkin fight….We have an amazing month coming.”

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Jermell Charlo Unifies Super Welterweights Via Solar Plexus Punch

Published

7 hours ago

September 26, 2020

David A. Avila

Jermell-Charlo-Unifies-Super-Welterweights-Via-Solar-Plexus-Punch

WBC super welterweight titlist Jermell Charlo knocked out IBF and WBA titlist Jeison Rosario with a knockout punch delivered to the solar plexus on Saturday to add two more belts to his collection.

“I’m definitely bringing home the straps,” said Charlo.

Shades of Bob Fitzsimmons.

Back in 1897, Fitzsimmons used the same solar plexus punch to dethrone Gentleman James Corbett for the heavyweight title in Carson City, Nevada.

In another casino city Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) floored Dominican Republic’s Rosario (20-2-1, 14 KOs) three times at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. He and his brother co-headlined a heavy duty pay-per-view card with no fans in attendance on the Premier Boxing Champions card.

Charlo jumped on Rosario quickly in the first round when he charged and clipped him with a left hook to the temple. Down went the two-belt champion for the count. But he got up seemingly unfazed.

For the next several rounds Rosario was the aggressor and put the pressure on Charlo who was content to allow the Dominican to fire away. Occasionally the Houston fighter jabbed but allowed Rosario to pound up and down with both fists.

After allowing Rosario to get comfortable with his attack, suddenly Charlo stopped moving and connected with a short crisp counter left hook and right cross in the sixth round. Down went Rosario again and he got up before the count of 10.

Charlo said it was part of the game plan.

“I’m growing and I realize that the knockout will just come,” he said.

Charlo was in control with a patient style and allowed Rosario to come forward. But the Dominican was more cautious in the seventh.

In the eighth round Charlo jabbed to the head and then jabbed hard to Rosario’s stomach. The Dominican fighter dropped down on his seat as if felled by a gun shot. He could not get up and convulsed while on the floor. The referee Harvey Dock counted him out at 21 seconds of round eight.

“That jab that got to him must have landed in a vital point,” said Charlo after the fight. “I hope he recovers and bounces back.”

Charlo now has three of the four major super welterweight world titles.

WBC Super Bantamweight Title

Luis Nery (31-0, 24 KOs) captured the WBC super bantamweight title by unanimous decision over fellow Mexican Aaron Alameda (25-1, 13 KOs) in a battle between southpaws. The war between border town fighters was intense.

Nery, a former bantamweight world titlist, moved up a weight division and found Alameda to be a slick southpaw with an outstanding jab. At first the Tijuana fighter was a little puzzled how to attack but found his groove in the fourth round.

But Alameda, who fights out of Nogales, Mexico, began using combinations and finding success. A crafty counter left uppercut caught Nery charging in a few times, but he managed to walk through them.

In the final two rounds Nery picked up the action and increased the pressure against the slick fighting Alameda, He forced the Nogales fighter to fight defensively and that proved enough to give the last two rounds for Nery and the victory by unanimous decision. The scores were 115-113, 116-112 and 118-110 for Nery who now holds the WBC super bantamweight world title. He formerly held the WBC bantamweight title.

Roman Wins

Danny “Baby-Faced Assassin” Roman (28-3-1, 10 KOs) managed to rally from behind and defeat Juan Carlos Payano (21-4, 9 KOs) in a battle between former world champions in a nontitle super bantamweight clash. It wasn’t easy.

Once again Roman fought a talented southpaw and in this fight Payano, a former bantamweight titlist, moved up in weight and kept Roman off balance for the first half of the fight. The jab and movement by the Dominican fighter seemed to keep Roman out of sync.

Roman, who fights out of Los Angeles, used a constant body attack to wear down the 35-year-old Payano and it paid off in the second half. Then the former unified world champion Roman began to pinpoint more blows to the body and head. With seconds left in the 12^th and final round, a left hook delivered Payano down and through the ropes. Sadly, the referee missed the knockdown. It didn’t matter as all three judges scored it identical at 116-112 for Roman after 12 rounds.

“I made some adjustments and picked up the pace and got the win,” said Roman who formerly held the WBA and IBF super bantamweight world titles.

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

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Jermall Charlo UD 12 Derevyanchenko; Figueroa and Casimero Also Triumphant

Published

11 hours ago

September 26, 2020

Arne K. Lang

Jermall Charlo UD 12 Derevyanchenko; Figueroa and Casimero Also Triumphant

The Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, was the site of the first pay-per-view boxing event in the United States since the Fury-Wilder rematch on Feb. 22. There were six fights in all, five of which were title fights and the other a title-eliminator. They were divided into two tiers but bundled into a package that cost approximately a dollar a round with a facile intermission tossed in at no extra charge.

The headline attraction of the first “three-pack” – and the most anticipated fight of the evening – found WBC world middleweight champion Jermall Charlo defending his title against Sergiy Derevyanchenko. The Ukrainian gave Gennady Golovkin a hard tussle when they fought in November of last year at Madison Square Garden – GGG won a unanimous decision but the scores were tight and many thought Derevyanchenko deserved the decision – and the expectation was that tonight’s match would also be very competitive. But it really wasn’t although the rugged Derevyanchenko rarely took a backward step.

The fight went the distance and there were no knockdowns, but Charlo buckled his knees at the end of round three and Derevyanchenko ended the fight with cuts above both eyes. The judges had it 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

With Canelo Alvarez apparently headed to 168 and GGG showing his age at 38, one can make a strong case that the undefeated 30-year-old Jermall Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) is now the top middleweight in the world. Derevyanchenko, who was 23-1 in the semi-pro World Series of Boxing before turning pro, saw his pro record decline to 13-3 with all three losses in middleweight title fights.

—

The middle fight of the first tier was a lusty encounter between Mexican-American super bantamweights Brandon Figueroa and Damien Vazquez. Figueroa, one of two fighting brothers from the Mexican border town of Weslaco, Texas, was a huge favorite over Vazquez, a Colorado native who moved to Las Vegas as a freshman in high school and had fought extensively in Mexico where he made his pro debut at age 16. But Vazquez, the nephew of former three-time world super bantamweight title-holder Israel Vazquez, came to fight and gave a good effort until the fight turned lopsidedly against him.

In the middle rounds, Figueroa’s high-pressure attack began to wear Vazquez down. Vazquez had a few good moments in rounds six and eight, but when his right eye began swelling from the cut above it, he was fighting an uphill battle. He took a lot of punishment before referee Gary Rosato halted it at the 1:18 mark of round 10.

Figueroa, 23, successfully defended his WBA 122-pound title while improving his record to 21-0-1 with his 16^th KO. Vazquez declined to 15-2-1.

—

The lid-lifter was a WBO bantamweight title defense by John Riel Casimero with Duke Micah in the opposite corner. Micah, from Accra, Ghana, came in undefeated at 24-0, but Casimero had faced a far stronger schedule and was a substantial favorite.

A Filipino who was been training in Las Vegas under Bones Adams, Casimero took Micah out in the third round. The Brooklyn-based Micah was somewhat busier in the opening frame, but the tide turned quickly in favor of the Filipino. Casimero hurt Micah with a left hook in round two and went for the kill. He wasn’t able to finish him, but Micah was on a short leash and referee Steve Willis was quick to step in when Casimero resumed his attack after the break. The official time was 0:54.

Casimero (30-4, 21 KOs) was defending the title he won last November with a third-round knockout of favored Zolani Tete in Birmingham, England. He was slated to fight this past April in Las Vegas against Naoya Inoue, but that fight evaporated as a result of the coronavirus. After the bout, Casimero called out Inoue (and others): “I’m the real monster,” he said. “Naoya Inoue is scared of me. You’re next. I would have knocked out anyone today. If Inoue doesn’t fight me, then I’ll fight Guillermo Rigondeaux, Luis Nery, or any of the top fighters.”

Check back shortly for David Avila’s summaries of the remaining fights.

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

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Mairis Briedis and Josh Taylor Impress on a Busy Fight Day in Europe

Published

14 hours ago

September 26, 2020

Arne K. Lang

Mairis-Briedis-and-Josh-Taylor-Impress-on-a-Busy-Fight-Day-in-Europe

In the busiest weekend of boxing thus far in 2020, there were fights of note all over the map in Europe. The most compelling was held at the Plazamedia Broadcasting Center in Munich where the long-delayed WBSS cruiserweight final pit IBF world cruiserweight title-holder Yuniel Dorticos against Mairis Briedis. Both had only one loss on their ledger, that coming in a semifinal of Season One of the WBSS tourney.

Heading in, Briedis was recognized as the more well-rounder boxer. Dorticos had a style somewhat similar to Deontay Wilder, meaning that he was over-dependent on his big right hand. It figured that Briedis would fight with extreme caution, using his faster hands and superior footwork to keep out of harm’s way, but to the contrary he wasn’t afraid to trade with Dorticos and actually landed the harder punches. At the end, he captured the IBF belt and the more coveted Muhammad Ali Trophy with a majority decision. The judges had it 117-111, 117-111, and a confounding 114-114.

The first fighter from Latvia to win a world title, Briedis (27-1, 19 KOs) is now a two-time world cruiserweight champion. He previously held the WBO cruiserweight belt, but vacated it rather than adhere to the organization’s mandate that he give Krzysztof Glowacki a rematch. (Their first fight, a TKO 3 for Briedis, was very messy and he was fortunate that he wasn’t disqualified.) Dorticos, the Cuban defector, returns to his adopted home in Miami with a 24-2 record.

Briedis, 35, may own only one piece of the world cruiserweight title, but at the moment he is clearly the topmost fighter in the division.

York Hall, London

Apinun Khongsong’s first engagement outside the Orient didn’t go well for him. The 24-year-old Thai boxer with an Muay Thai background was out of his element against WBA/IBF champion Josh Taylor who dismissed him in a hurry with a “solar plexus punch” that would have made Bob Fitzsimmons proud. The punch from the left-handed Scotsman sent Khongsong to the canvas writhing in pain and he was down for several minutes before he was able to stand upright. The official time was 2:41 of the opening round.

Taylor, the Tartan Tornado, was making his first start since October of last year when he won a 12-round majority decision over Regis Prograis in a Fight of the Year candidate. His next fight may be a full unification of the 140-pound belt with Jose Carlos Ramirez in the opposite corner. Both he and Khangsong entered today’s fight with 16-0 records, but Taylor, who scored his 13^th knockout, was in a different league.

Undercard Bouts of Note

In a 10-round bantamweight contest, Charlie Edwards (16-1, 1 NC, 6 KOs) out-classed British countryman Kyle Williams (11-3). The referee awarded Edwards nine of the 10 rounds. Edwards, 27, previously held the WBC 112-pound title but was forced to relinquish it because he had trouble making the weight.

York Hall has been a jinx for David Oliver Joyce, the 33-year-old super bantamweight from Mullinger, Ireland, who is 0-2 in this building and 12-0 elsewhere. Joyce failed to last three rounds today in his match with Ionut Baluta. A Romanian who fights out of Bilbao, Spain, Baluta knocked Joyce down with a big left hook and then swarmed all over him when he arose, forcing the referee to intervene. The official time was 1:49 of round three.

It was the sixth straight win for Baluta (14-2, 3 KOs) and his third straight over a once-beaten opponent.

Riga, Latvia

Riga native Richard Bilotniks successfully defended his version of the European 175-pound title and advanced to the finals of the Golden Contract Light Heavyweight Tournament with a one-sided 10-round decision over Hosea Burton. A late bloomer who won only four of his first eight pro fights, Bilotnicks 30, won every round on one of the scorecards and eight rounds on the others to advance record to 17-5-1. Burton, who lost for the second time in 27 starts, let down his cousin Tyson Fury who flew to Latvia to cheer him on.

Struer, Denmark

At an arena in the city of Struer, hometown lass Dina Thorslund had a harder time than expected with Nina Radovanovic, but the Serb got no respect from the judges who didn’t see fit to award her a single round. Thorslund (15-0, 6 KOs) successfully defended her WBO world 122-pound title.

In the chief undercard bout, heavyweight Filip Hrgovic (11-0, 9 KOs) moved a step closer to a world title opportunity with a second-round blast-out of late sub Alexandre Kartozia. There was no need to count when Hrgovic leveled Kartozia with a big right hand.

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