Let’s See Roach’s Worth Training Pascal For Kovalev Rematch

Published

8 years ago

December 3, 2015

George Gainford must be the greatest boxing trainer of all time because he trained the greatest fighter/boxer who has yet lived, Walker Smith Jr. better known as Sugar Ray Robinson. “He had everything,” legendary trainer Eddie Futch said after Robinson died. “Boxing skills, punching power, a great chin, mental strength. There was nothing he couldn’t do. He knew almost everything there was to know about how to box. When Ray was in his prime, he owned the ring like no fighter before or since.”

Truer words have never been spoken pertaining to any fighter because Robinson is the greatest natural blend of speed, power and skill anyone has ever seen in the ring. The debate begins with who is the second greatest fighter/boxer ever?

For years I’ve proclaimed that boxing trainers, especially the big name ones, are overrated.

In 2009 I wrote “In most cases it’s 90% the fighter and 10% the trainer, and 10% may even be a stretch. Angelo Dundee is no doubt a Hall of Fame trainer, but in truth Muhammad Ali didn’t listen to Angelo or Archie Moore, who was his first trainer. When it came to ring strategy and fighting, Ali didn’t listen to anything anyone tried to tell him. Emanuel Steward was a great asset to Lennox Lewis when it came to teaching him how to use his size and fight like a big guy. On the other hand did he “become inept” when he trained Jermain Taylor, who actually had one of his worst showings while Steward was in his corner?”

George Gainford only trained one great fighter, Sugar Ray Robinson. Is it a coincidence that Gainford never trained another fighter who could be considered outstanding, let alone great? In fact Gainford was once asked while holding court at a local tavern, “How come none of your other fighters fight as great as Robinson?” To which he had no response.

This week it was announced that WBO/IBF light heavyweight title holder Sergey Kovalev 28-0-1 (25) will defend his titles against former WBC/IBO and ring light heavyweight world champion Jean Pascal 30-3-1 (17). Earlier this year Kovalev stopped Pascal in the eighth round at Montreal’s Bell Centre. Based on how the first fight went it’s hard to make a case for Pascal topping Kovalev in the rematch. Sergey has the better inside and outside game not to mention he’s the bigger guy and harder puncher.

However, Pascal says he has a surprise for Kovalev this time. Jean stated, “I put him down in the eighth round in the first fight, but they called it a slip. But I promise you that Kovalev is going to have a full plate in the rematch. I’m going to have a full plate as well, but I have a new trainer (Freddie Roach), I’ve changed things, I’ve improved in ways that Kovalev cannot even imagine.”

That I can’t wait to see because I’m definitely a skeptic.

For the record I think Jean Pascal is a borderline outstanding fighter and worthy of another title shot, but Kovalev looks to be on another level. When they last fought Kovalev’s jab was the dominant punch of the fight. Pascal couldn’t get near him, unless he rushed in when Sergey was pulling it back, but even at that, he knew the right hand was waiting for him, so his runs were judicious at best and not all that effective. And the other problem Pascal had was – when Kovalev did get through with the jab, he felt it and had to break off the exchange to avoid getting hurt. What’s Roach going to do about that?

Kovalev is an outstanding boxer and is very hard to get to without paying a price, just ask Bernard Hopkins. I don’t care who trains Pascal, he can’t beat Kovalev on the outside. If he tries to do that he’ll be at the mercy of Sergey’s jab and fighting uphill all night. With fighting on the outside not an option, what’s left? He certainly can’t carry the fight to Kovalev, which will play right into Sergey’s strength and would be suicide for Pascal. If he tries to bring it to Kovalev he’ll be walking directly into his power, and chasing a puncher is a no no.

Yes, trainers are important but they’re overrated. Roach had Pacquiao looking great against Juan Manuel Marquez during the fourth and final bout between them, than Manny got caught and it was over. Freddie had Miguel Cotto fighting the right fight against Canelo Alvarez last month, but Miguel just couldn’t fully execute the plan because he lacked the physicality to do so. Canelo’s strength was the difference in the fight and ultimately decided the outcome. If you didn’t know Manny Pacquiao was injured when he fought Floyd Mayweather, you never would’ve guessed it while watching the fight. And Floyd totally out boxed Manny and would do so again with or without Roach in his corner.

I expect that to be the case when Pascal fights Kovalev this coming January 30th. The way I see it, Kovalev owns the style advantage and hits too hard to be out-boxed by Pascal. It’ll be interesting to see how Roach instructs Pascal to attack Kovalev, and if he has the physical ability to pull it off what the plan calls for. Perhaps Jean will make it past the eighth round this time, but I don’t see any path to victory for him over Kovalev…regardless of who the trainer is working his corner the night of the fight.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Frank Lotierzo

Conor Benn, a Lightning Rod for Controversy, Returns to the Ring on Saturday

Published

1 day ago

September 20, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Conor-Benn-A-Lightning-Rod-for-Controversy-Returns-to-the-Ring-on-Saturday

In a surprise announcement, Matchroom honcho Eddie Hearn has announced that Conor Benn will return to the ring this Saturday on the undercard of his promotion at the Caribe Royal in Orlando, Florida. Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) is matched against Mexico’s Rodolfo Orozco who is 32-3-3 (24) and has never been stopped. The match is slated for 10 rounds at 154 pounds and will mark the first test for both fighters outside their native countries.

The main event on the Matchroom card is a 12-round contest in the super lightweight division between Richardson Hitchins (16-0, 7 KOs) and Jose Zepeda (37-3, 28 KOs). Hitchins, born in Brooklyn, represented his parents’ homeland of Haiti in the 2016 Rio Olympics where he lost his opening round match to amateur nemesis Gary Antuanne Russell. Zepeda, a 34-year-old Mexican-American southpaw, is best remembered for his 2020 rumble with Ivan Baranchyk, the runaway pick for the Fight of the Year. The chief supporting bout pits England’s Sandy Ryan against Chicago’s Jessica McCaskill with the WBA, WBC, and IBF female welterweight belts on the line. The show will be live-streamed on DAZN.

Conor Benn last fought in April of last year when he TKOed South African veteran Chris Van Heerden in the second round. He was slated to return to the ring on Oct. 8, 2022 against Chris Eubank Jr, but — as is common knowledge – that bout fell to pieces when it came out that Benn had tested positive for a banned substance identified as Clomifene, a fertility drug in women that boosts testosterone in men. Making things worse for Benn, it came out that he had tested positive on VADA-administered tests on two separate occasions spaced several weeks apart. Try as they may, promoter Eddie Hearn and his partner Kelle Sauerland were unable to sway the British Boxing Board of Control into backing off on their edict that prevented the fight from going forward; the authorities wouldn’t budge.

As noted in a story that ran on this website, the Benn-Eubank Jr implosion was a particularly infernal shipwreck. The plug wasn’t pulled until two days before the fight, by which time all 20,000 seats at London’s O2 Arena had reportedly been sold.

Conor Benn predictably insisted that he was innocent, calling it a witch-hunt. The World Boxing Council subsequently lifted its suspension of Benn, citing a report in a medical journal that showed that Clomifene could appear in one’s system via an excessive consumption of eggs. With his father Nigel, a former two-division world champion at his side, Conor argued his case on a popular British TV talk show and persuaded many to see him as a sympathetic figure, the victim of a flawed testing process.

Interest in a Benn-Eubank Jr fight dissipated when Eubank was knocked out by Liam Smith, but was then rekindled when Eubank won the rematch in a dominant fashion. Various news reports say that Hearn has begun preliminary negotiations to resurrect the fight with his eye on a date in December.

As noted by several prominent fight writers, notably Dan Rafael, Conor Benn hasn’t yet been cleared to resume his career in the UK. An independent National Anti-Doping Panel gave him the green light, but the BBBofC is appealing that decision. Promoter Frank Warren, Eddie Hearn’s chief rival, has ventured the opinion that Team Benn is disrespecting the sport by returning to the ring before the process has run its course. In rebuttal, Eddie Hearn says the Benn-Orozco fight has the blessing of the (USA) Association of Boxing Commissioners which made this determination after consulting with the BBBofC.

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International Brotherhood of Prizefighters Rankings: Week of September 17, 2023

Published

2 days ago

September 19, 2023

IB of P

International-Brotherhood-of-Prizefighters-Rankings-Week-Ending-September-17,-2023.jpg

International Brotherhood of Prizefighters Rankings: Week of September 17, 2023

Here’s to guessing that the days of the best willing to fight the best on a regular basis is now forever but a distant memory.

Rankings remain unchanged again this week.

105lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Thammanoon Niyomtrong (Knockout CP Freshmart) (Thailand)

2 Panya Pradabsri (Petchmanee CP Freshmart) (Thailand)

3 Oscar Collazo (USA)

4 Ginjiro Shigeoka (Japan)

5 Daniel Valladares (Mexico)

6 Yudai Shigeoka (Japan)

7 Melvin Jerusalem (Philippines)

8 Masataka Taniguchi (Japan)

9 Rene Mark Cuarto (Philippines)

10 Yudai Shigeoka (Philippines)

108lbs

♛ Kenshiro Teraji (Japan)

1 Jonathan Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)

2 Masamichi Yabuki (Japan)

3 Sivenathi Nontshinga (South Africa)

4 Hekkie Budler (South Africa)

5 Elwin Soto (Mexico)

6 Regie Suganob (Philippines)

7 Shokichi Iwata (Japan)

8 Carlos Canizales (Venezuela)

9 Daniel Matellon (Panama)

10 Miel Fajardo (Philippines)

112lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Sunny Edwards (England)

2 Artem Dalakian (Ukraine)

3 Julio Cesar Martinez (Mexico)

4 Angel Ayala Lardizabal (Mexico)

5 David Jimenez (Costa Rica)

6 Jesse Rodriguez (USA)

7 Ricardo Sandoval (USA)

8 Felix Alvarado (Nicaragua)

9 Seigo Yuri Akui (Japan)

10 Taku Kuwahara (Japan)

115lbs

♛ Juan Francisco Estrada (Mexico)

1 Roman Gonzalez (Nicaragua)

2 Kazuto Ioka (Japan)

3 Fernando Martinez (Argentina)

4 Junto Nakatani (Japan)

5 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (Thailand)

6 Kosei Tanaka (Japan)

7 Andrew Moloney (Australia)

8 Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (Mexico)

9 Pedro Guevara (Mexico)

10 Donnie Nietes (Philippines)

118lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Emmanuel Rodriguez (Puerto Rico)

2 Alexandro Santiago (Mexico)

3 Jason Moloney (Australia)

4 Vincent Astrolabio (Philippines)

5 Gary Antonio Russell (USA)

6 Takuma Inoue (Japan)

7 Nonito Donaire (Philippines)

8 Ryosuke Nishida (Japan)

9 Keita Kurihara (Japan)

10 Paul Butler (England)

122lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Naoya Inoue (Japan)

2 Marlon Tapales (Philippines)

3 Stephen Fulton (USA)

4 Luis Nery (Mexico)

5 Murodjon Akhmadaliev (Uzbekistan)

6 Sam Goodman (Australia)

7 Azat Hovhannisyan (Armenia)

8 Kevin Gonzalez (Mexico)

9 Ra’eese Aleem (USA)

10 Liam Davies (England)

126lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Luis Alberto Lopez (Mexico)

2 Leigh Wood (England)

3 Brandon Figueroa (USA)

4 Rey Vargas (Mexico)

5 Mauricio Lara (Mexico)

6 Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba)

7 Mark Magsayo (Philippines)

8 Josh Warrington (England)

9 Reiya Abe (Japan)

10 Otabek Kholmatov (Uzbekistan)

130lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Emanuel Navarrete (Mexico)

2 Joe Cordina (Wales)

3 Hector Garcia (Dominican Republic)

4 O’Shaquie Foster (USA)

5 Oscar Valdez (Mexico)

6 Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (Tajikistan)

7 Otar Eranosyan (Georgia)

8 Lamont Roach (USA)

9 Eduardo Ramirez (Mexico)

10 Kenichi Ogawa (Japan)

135lbs

♛ Devin Haney (USA)

1 Gervonta Davis (USA)

2 Vasily Lomachenko (Ukraine)

3 Isaac Cruz (Mexico)

4 William Zepeda Segura (Mexico)

5 Frank Martin (USA)

6 Shakur Stevenson (USA)

7 Maxi Hughes (England)

8 George Kambosos Jr (Australia)

9 Keyshawn Davis (USA)

10 Raymond Muratalla (USA)

140lbs

♛ Teofimo Lopez (USA)

1 Regis Prograis (USA)

2 Jose Ramirez (USA)

3 Jose Zepeda (USA)

4 Jack Catterall (England)

5 Subriel Matias (Puerto Rico)

6 Arnold Barboza Jr. (USA)

7 Gary Antuanne Russell (USA)

8 Zhankosh Turarov (Kazakhstan)

9 Elvis Rodriguez (Dominican Republic)

10 Josh Taylor (Scotland)

147lbs

♛ Terence Crawford (USA)

1 Errol Spence (USA)

2 Jaron Ennis (USA)

3 David Avanesyan (Russia)

4 Cody Crowley (Canada)

5 Alexis Rocha (USA)

6 Rashidi Ellis (USA)

7 Souleymane Cissokho (Senegal)

8 Roiman Villa (Venezuela)

9 Egidijus Kavaliauskas (Lithuania)

10 Shakhram Giyasov (Uzbekistan)

154lbs

♛ Jermell Charlo (USA)

1 Tim Tszyu (Australia)

2 Brian Mendoza (USA)

3 Jesus Alejandro Ramos (USA)

4 Sebastian Fundora (USA)

5 Erickson Lubin (USA)

6 Michel Soro (Ivory Coast)

7 Magomed Kurbanov (Russia)

8 Tony Harrison (USA)

9 Israil Madrimov (Uzbekistan)

10 Bakhram Murtazaliev (Russia)

160lbs

♛ Vacant

1 Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan)

2 Carlos Adames (Dominican Republic)

3 Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (Kazakhstan)

4 Chris Eubank Jr. (England)

5 Liam Smith (England)

6 Sergiy Derevyanchenko (Ukraine)*

7 Vincenzo Gualtieri (Germany)

8 Felix Cash (England)

9 Michael Zerafa (Australia)

10 Esquiva Falcao (Brazil)

168lbs

♛ Canelo Alvarez (Mexico)

1 David Benavidez (USA)

2 Caleb Plant (USA)

3 Christian Mbilli (France)

4 David Morrell (Cuba)

5 John Ryder (England)

6 Pavel Silyagin (Russia)

7 Vladimir Shishkin (Russia)

8 Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)

9 Jaime Munguia (Mexico)

10 Demetrius Andrade (USA)

175lbs

♛ Artur Beterbiev (Canada)

1 Dmitry Bivol (Russia)

2 Joshua Buatsi (England)

3 Callum Smith (England)

4 Joe Smith Jr. (USA)

5 Gilberto Ramirez (Mexico)

6 Anthony Yarde (England)

7 Dan Azeez (England)

8 Ali Izmailov (Russia)

9 Michael Eifert (Germany)

10 Igor Mikhalkin (Germany)

200lbs

♛ Jai Opetaia (Australia)

1 Mairis Breidis (Latvia)

2 Chris Billam-Smith (England)

3 Richard Riakporhe (England)

4 Aleksei Papin (Russia)

5 Badou Jack (Sweden)

6 Arsen Goulamirian (France)

7 Lawrence Okolie (England)

8 Yuniel Dorticos (Cuba)

9 Mateusz Masternak (Poland)

10 Ilunga Makabu (So. Africa)

Unlimited

♛ Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine)

1 Tyson Fury (England)

2 Zhilei Zhang (China)

3 Deontay Wilder (USA)

4 Anthony Joshua (England)

5 Filip Hrgovic (Croatia)

6 Andy Ruiz (USA)

7 Joe Joyce (England)

8 Arslanbek Makhmudov (Russia)

9 Frank Sanchez (Cuba)

10 Luis Ortiz (USA)

Pound-for-Pound

01 – Terence Crawford

02 – Naoya Inoue

03 – Oleksandr Usyk

04 – Juan Francisco Estrada

05 – Dmitry Bivol

06 – Tyson Fury

07 – Canelo Alvarez

08 – Artur Beterbiev

09 – Teofimo Lopez

10 – Shakur Stevenson

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Kenshiro Teraji TKOs Hekkie Budler on a Monday Night in Tokyo

Published

3 days ago

September 18, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Kenshiro-Teraji-TKOs-Hekkie-Budler-on-a-Monday-Night-in-Tokyo

Kenshiro Teraji, the best Japanese boxer not named Naoya Inoue, successfully defended his WBC and WBA 108-pound titles in the Koto City ward of Tokyo tonight (before dawn in parts of the U.S.) with a ninth-round stoppage of South African veteran Hekkie Budler. Although Budler had his moments, Teraji (22-1, 14 KOs) was comfortably ahead on the cards when referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia pulled the plug at the 2:19 mark of round nine with Budler backed against the ropes and Teraji connecting with a barrage of unanswered punches.

Teraji, a second-generation prizefighter in his second reign as a 108-pound champion, is now 13-1 in world title fights. He avenged his lone defeat and did it in grand style with a third round KO of countryman Masamichi Yabuki. The 35-year-old Budler, a former two-division title-holder who has answered the bell for 341 rounds, declined to 35-5.

Nakatani-Cortes

Junto Nakatani, a two-division title-holder making the first defense of his WBO world super flyweight title, won a lopsided 12-round decision over Mexico City’s Argi Cortes. Nakatani, tall for the weight class, scored three knockdowns with body punches, two coming in round five, en route to winning by scores of 118-107 and 119-106 twice.

A massive favorite in the 18/1 range, Nakatani (26-0, 19 KOs) was coming off a dominant showing against Andrew Moloney in Las Vegas, a bout that ended with Nakatani scoring a brutal, one-punch knockout. Cortes (25-4-2) had lost only one of his previous 25 fights, that a narrow but unanimous decision rendered against him by pound-for-pound-list occupant Juan Francisco Estrada. This was his first appearance outside Mexico.

Nakatani appears to be on a collision course with 30-2-1 countryman Kazuto Ioka who holds the WBA version of this title.

Also

In a super flyweight contest slated for eight rounds, Anthony Olascuaga (6-1, 4 KOs) scored a seventh-round stoppage of Giemel Magrano who was on his feet and likely ahead on the cards when the referee halted the contest with three seconds remaining in round seven.

Olascuaga, LA-born and raised, had suffered his lone defeat in this very ring in April, succumbing in nine rounds to Kenshiro Teraji. In that contest, Olascuaga acquitted himself well in defeat considering his inexperience and the fact that he took the bout on 10 days’ notice. Magrano, a 28-year-old Filipino, declines to 28-4.

Nasukara

In a bout that directly preceded the main event, Tenshin Nasukawa pitched a shutout over Mexican import Luis Guzman, winning 80-70 on all three cards after scoring a knockdown in the opening round.

Outside Japan, Nasukawa, now 2-0 as a professional boxer, is best known for his quasi-exhibition with Floyd Mayweather in December of 2019, a match in which he suffered the indignity of being stopped in the opening round. Inside Japan, he is recognized as one of the greatest kickboxers of all time. Guzman, recognized as the bantamweight champion of Mexico, lost for the third time in 13 pro bouts.

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