Blog Posts - Heavyweight Boxing

Thursday June 5th

6/2/2014

This weeks Heavyweight action continues through the week and on Thursday US fans get two interesting bouts in Massachusetts.

The first of those bouts will see the unbeaten and heavy handed Danny Kelly (5-0-1, 4) taking on the twice beaten but still tough Eric Newell (7-2-2, 5). Neither man is partciularly great though the contest should be relatively well matched with both men looking to score wins and both probably feeling confident that they have what it takes to defeat the other.

Whilst we're expecting a very interesting bout between Kelly and Newell we actually think the show's other bout is better. This contest will see the unbeaten Alexis Santos (13-0, 11) battling against the once beaten but heavy handed Daniel Martz (10-1-1, 7). Santos has to be favoured but this has the potential to be the toughest bout os his career, by quite some margin. The one thing we doubt here is that it goes the distance.

Wednesday June 4th

6/2/2014

One thing we are huge fans of are are tournaments. Whether that is the "all in 1 night" competitions, such as "Prizefighter" or the longer one, such as the "Boxcino" competitions or even the "Super Six" style competitions.

We get one of those all in 1 night competitions this Wednesday in Australia as we get the "Super 8".

This competition, just like the international "Prizefighter" competitions features fighters from around the world and at various stages in their career.

The most well known of the fighters on the show is former world champion Hasim Rahman (50-8-2-1, 41) who will begin his efforts by fighting against the little known Kiwi Anthony Nansen (3-2, 1). Rahman might be shot to pieces and no where near the fighter he once was but he should get past Nansen and into the Semi-Final.

Nansen isn't the only novice Kiwi on the show and the other is Brice Ritani-Coe (3-2-1, 3) who will be fighting American veteran Alonzo Butler (30-2-1, 22) in what should be another mismatch in favour of the man with more experience. In theory a win for Butler would set up a contest with Rahman in the semi.

The second half of the draw should, from what we are aware, see an all "down under" rivalry as veteran puncher Kali Meehan (38-5, 31) takes on the very under-rated Hunter Sam (10-2-2, 4). This looks like another mismatch on paper though we actually view this as the best of the quarter finals and, having followed Sam for a while, we'd actually be very tempted to back him to score the upset here.

The final quarter final will see former "Prizefighter" champions facing off as boxer-turn-taxi driver Martin Rogan (16-5, 8) takes on the under-rated Michael Sprott (40-21, 17). We've got to back Sprott here, despite the extra miles on the the clock.

We're guessing we'll see Sprott fighting Butler in the final but there is no sure thing in these competitions and anything really can happen.

On the same show there will also be a none competition bout as unbeaten under-card fighters battle each other. This bout will see Hemi Ahio (2-0, 2) fighting against William Quarrie (4-0, 1) in what could be a very interesting low profile bout wth 2 men who will be fighting to win.

Tuesday June 3rd

6/2/2014

In the right conditions a national title fight can be one of the most important fights of a fighters career. This Tuesday in Russia sees one such title fight as the unbeaten Vladimir Goncharov (2-0, 1) takes on the more experienced Bedarin Toma (6-2, 3) for the vacant Russian Heavyweight title.

The title, which has previously been held by Nikolay Valuev, isn't one of the most important national titles out there, especialy when compared with, for example, the British title at Heavyweight though a win for either man will move their careers on quickly.

Interestingly this is a rematch of a December 2012 bout thay saw Goncharov scoring a 6th round TKO over Toma. That bout was the last bout either man has been involved in, sadly making this a bit of a weird one given whats at stake for the men involved.

Saturday May 31st

5/29/2014

This Saturday is one of the biggest in world boxing and with that in mind it is also one of the busiest ion Heavyweight boxing with fights spread over 4 continents and more than anaverage weeks worth of action!

Of all the bouts across the world the one Heavyweight who seems to have the hopes of a country on his shoulders is Olympic champion Anthony Joshua (5-0, 5) who faces Matt Legg (7-2, 3) in a bout we can't help but feel is a total waste of time for Joshua who now needs to be looking at English title fights not very low level domestic fighters. By now Joshua should feel he's beyond this type of match up.

In Poland we'll get to see the once beaten Marcin Rekowski (14-1, 11) battling former WBC title challenger Albert Sosnowski (48-6-2, 29) in an excellent all-Polish bout. We're expecting Rekowski to come out on top but Sosnowski has the experience edge and is the more "proven" fighter, even if he is viewed as being on the slide.

Another European bout is in Germany where the unbeaten Adnan Redzovic (14-0, 4) fights busy journeyman Tomas Mrazek (9-46-6, 5) in a scheduled 6 rounder. Aged 37 Redzovic is hardly a prospect, more a side show, and he doesn't really seem to mind at this point in his life.

In Belgium the once beaten Herve Hubeaux (16-1, 7) will be defending his WBC Youth title against the limited Tibor Balogh (14-4-2, 10). Although Bubeaux isn't very good, despite his record, he should still see off the poor Balogh without too many issues.

There is yet more European action as the Czech Republic hosts an indefensible mismatch between Danny Williams (46-21-0-1, 35) and Frantisek Kynkal (3-4, 3). This is likely to be Danny Williams's second victory of the money and, maybe like Shannon Briggs, Williams is thinking that winning mismatches could lead to a big payday.

Outside of Europe we get a very odd looking bout in China as the unbeaten Zhang Junlong (6-0, 6), of China, puts his unbeaten record up against Japan's Kotatsu Takehara (10-9-3, 4) in an excellent looking IBO Asia Pacific title bout. This contest is sure to be interesting even if neither guy is anywhere on the world scene.

The most interesting Heavyweight bout in the US takes place in Missouri as the unbeaten Ed Fountain (8-0, 3) takes a step up to battle man mountain Richard Carmack (12-4-0-1, 10). Carmack has lost his last 4 but this is still a step up for Fountain who has been facing weak opponents so far.

Fans in New Jersey will get to see a pair of Heavyweight bouts. The more significant, though more 1-sided, of those bouts sees the unbeaten Tyrell Wright (5-0, 4) battling against the very limited Eric George (1-6), who has been stopped in 2 of his 6 losses.. The other contest will see the once beaten Joe Cusumano (6-1, 4) fighting against Excell Holmes (2-3-1, 1) in a bout that we expect will be much better than it looks on paper.

In West Virginia we're expecting a real mismatch as Keith Barr (12-6, 3) battles against the chinny and limited Rocky Burch (1-4-1, 1), whose sole win came back on his debut in December '09.

Another bad US bout sees the unbeaten Scott Buchanan (4-0, 3) battling against Dennis Benson (1-6, 1) in Washington, DC.

Yet another weak US bout takes place in Iowa as "Iron Man" Travis Fulton (21-37-1, 20) takes on Eric Scribner (1-1, 1). We doubt this one will go the distance though have little hope for the winner either way.

There is another two bouts in North American Heavyweight that takes place in Canada. The lesser of these sees as Eric Barrak (7-1, 6) battle against Istvan Ruzsinszky (12-10-1, 8) in what looks to be another relatively disappointing contest whilst the other sees the much touted Bogdan Dinu (9-0, 6) take on Avery Gibson (3-3-2, 1) in what should be little more than a stay busy assignment fro the much touted Dinu.

Amazingly even Ethiopia is getting in on the Heavyweight action this weekend with 2 Heavyweight bouts in Addis Ababa. The more interesting of these bouts will see Joseph Chingangu (27-9, 20) fighting against Francis Zulu (17-3-2, 8) in an IBF Continental Africa title fight. The other bout, a non-title bout, will see the huge punching Sammy Retta (18-3, 17) fighting against Ahmed Saed (11-4, 2).

Friday May 30th

5/28/2014

Not all days in Heavyweight boxing are great but this Friday looks tp be one of the better ones with a top, top, Heavyweight bout, a card full of Heavyweights, at differing stages of their careers and some North American action!

Easily the most notable bout is in Russia as former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin (26-1, 18) battles against former WBC title challenger Manuel Charr (26-1, 15) in a bout that we are really looking forward to. This bout, although not technically an eliminator, is a WBC international title fight and we're hoping that the winner will be shooting to a top 5 place. With the bout being in Russia we do favour Povetkin, slightly, though expect this will be a genuine tear up as Charr forces the action and Povetkin tries to answer back. It may not be the best Heavyweight fight in recent years but it could well remind us of Povetkin's thriller with Marco Huck.

Whilst the Povetkin/Charr bout is by far the best Heavyweight fight it's not the best card, that honour is instead in Germany as we get a full card of Heavyweight action across varying levels.

For us one of the most interesting bouts is one of the under-card contests as the young Tom Schwarz (5-0, 3) battles novice Andre Bunga (1-1, 1) in the first 6 rounder of Schwarz's promising career. Schwarz isn't the only unbeaten man on the card as Romania's Ante Verunica (1-0, 1) is also in action. Verunica, unfortunately for him, has a much tougher test than Schwarz however and will be fighting the hard hitting Lukas Filka (6-3, 5), who has stopped his last 4. Although Filka is unproven the Slovakian does have a notable experience edge and could give Verunica some problems if the Romanian isn't as good as his team are hoping.

The unbeaten men mentioned above are in 2 of the 4 bouts scheduled for 6 rounds. One of the other 6 rounders will see the big punching Sevdail Sherifi (10-3-3, 9) battle against the limited David Vicena (7-20-2, 5) in what looks to be a mismatch whilst the other 6 rounder will see Samir Nebo (5-1-1, 1) fight against Artsiom Charniakevich (1-3, 1).

The only bout scheduled for 8 rounds on the German show will see Konstantin Airich (20-8-2, 16) battle against Marcel Gottschalk (11-6-2, 9) in a bout we don't imagine will go the distance. Both guys are heavy handed and although both usually durable we think this one will finish early.

In the first of two title bouts on the show looks like a very promising contest as the limited but very heavy handed Steffen Kretschmann (17-2-0-1, 15) battles Oezcan Cetinkaya (21-8-2, 14). It's hard to see anything but a Kretschmann win but both guys can bang and both are vulnerable. The winner of this will take home the German International Heavyweight title giving both men some silverware to try and win.

Following on from the international title fight we then have a WBO European title bout as former world title challenger Francesco Pianeta (29-1-1, 16) battles against Frenchman Mickael Vieira (14-3-2, 7) in a very interesting looking contest. Pianeta, although he looked horrible against Wladimir Klitschko, isn't a bad fighter, and will be favoued here though Viera is far from a bum and could put up an interesting challenger to the Italian, certainly a better one than Robert Tueber was last December.

In Pennsylvania the unbeaten Imani Bell (1-0, 1) will be fighting the debuting Ashwin Trails (0-0). The surprising thing here is that Bell, aged 35, will be fighting for the first time in almost 4 years. The only other Heavyweight bout in North American this Friday will see Mexico's limited Raymundo Crispin (2-2) battle against the win-less Victor Avila (0-1) in Mexico City.

Thursday May 29th

5/26/2014

Fans of Heavyweight boxing may be some what picky with the fighters they feel are and aren't worth following but it's hard to for even us to suggest that the action we get this Thursday is anything special despite having 3 Heavyweight bouts on the same card in the USA and one of those bouts featuring an interesting prospect.

The aforementioned prospect is the unbeaten Joshua Tufte (15-0, 6) who although short for a Heavyweight at 6'1" does have some upseide to him. Sadly for all the hope of Tufte going places he is facing a poor foe here in the form of Curtis Harper (9-3, 7). Tufte defeated Richard Carmack last time out and defeated both Jonte Willis and Daniel Martz last year so we don't see why he's taking a step backwards to fight Harper who is heavy handed but limited and shouldn't really pose Tufte any real questions.

In one of the other Heavyweight bouts we have a combined age of 79 as David Long (12-3-2, 8) puts his 41 year old body up against the 38 year old Ed Perry (19-5-2, 11). It's hard to be interested here though on the other hand it's nice to see two older men fighting each ther rather than facing young and hungry lions who are simply too young and too good for the older men.

The other bout on the card will see the unbeaten Danny Calhoun (3-0, 2) take on the debuting Shamar Davis (0-0) in the only one of the bouts to be scheduled for 4 rounds.

Monday May 26th

5/24/2014

Their isn't much heavyweigth action today but in The Netherlands fans will be able to see a bout between the hard hitting Don Diego Poeder (25-6, 19) and journeyman Edgars Kalnars (25-28, 16). Hard to see a win for Kalnars here just looking at the records but Poeder is 42 and has been in and has been in just 3 fights in the last 7 years.

Sunday May 25th

5/22/2014

The weekend that never really got going ends with a whimper as Ladislav Slezak (3-28-2) is in action in Slovakia. Slezak has been stopped 23 times in 33 bouts and will be hoping to avoid loss #29. Sadly his opponent hasn't yet been named but we're not expecting anything too interesting here.

Saturday May 24th

5/22/2014

Some days are bad and this Saturday is one of the worst Saturday's this year for Heavyweight action.

In Germany we're expecting to see journeyman Werner Kreiskott (16-19-2, 10), though no opponent has yet been announced.

It's not a great day in the Czech Republic either, with a card which features 2 Heavyweight bouts with neither offering anything in terms of quality. One will see novice pro Josef Trsko (0-1) in action against an un-named foe whilst the other will see professional loser Martin Stensky (1-31, 1) try to be prevent a 31st stoppage loss as he takes on the "beyond shot" Danny Williams (45-21-0-1, 34), who himself needs to retire

We also have a vert missable fight in France as Franck Acho (2-0, 1) battles David Spilmont (3-2, 2) in a bout that has very little real interest despite Acho being an undefeated fighter. Likewise a show in the UK also features an unbeaten fighter as Andy Jones (2-0) puts his unbeaten record on the line against Imantas Davidaitis (2-6, 2).

In Brazil we get some rare female Heavyweight action as Andreia Alves dos Santos (0-0) battles fellow debutant Aline Vanessa (0-0) in a rare Brazilian card that actually looks a little interesting. It's not a great card but it's interesting for a Brazilian show which are usually terrible.

The one, perhaps shining light, for the night is that Trey Lippe (1-0, 1), the son of Tommy Morrison, will be in action, albeit against a poor and as yet un-named fighter.

Friday May 23rd

5/22/2014

Some days in Heavyweight boxing we need to accept less. One of those days is this Friday, a day with little action that wecan really get excited about.

In Australia the big punching Mark De Mori (25-1-2, 22) will be looking to extend a 16 fight winning streak. Ranked #11 by the WBA De Mori knows he is slowly climbing the rankings based on quantity of wins and if he continues to come out victorious he may be able to earn a huge career payday somwehere down the line. Unfortunately he's facing a yet to be named opponent so we're not expecting to see him given much of a work out here.

De Mori isn't the only puncher in action on Friday and in Russian fans will get to see the unbeaten Apti Davtaev (5-0, 5) attempt to extend his stoppage run. Davtaev will be fighting the very limited Roman Mirzoev (2-9, 1) in what should be a walk over bout for the unbeaten man.

A third Heavyweight bout is expected in the US as Nat Heaven (9-0, 7) attempts to move in to double figures. Sadly his opponent has not yet been named,