That the interim World Boxing Council Heavyweight Champion (WBC) touched down in Nigeria on the 14th of November 2007 may not really be news. That Samuel “The Nigeria Nightmare” Okon Peters has been conferred with a national honour OON may not also be news. That he was greeted with an awesome fanfare is not also news. But that he has started training on Monday, November 19, 2007 is news. That the Maskaev- Peters fight could be held in Nigeria is indeed news. That the President on behalf on the Government and the good people of Nigeria pledged his support for the boxer is also heart warming.
When Samuel Peters Kicked off his career not many knew him, talk more of giving him the chance of rising to the top of the game. He was lured into the game as an 11year old when he came in contact with some boxers who came to Uyo, his home town to train from then on the boxer never looked back, he won the local Eagle Belt in the year 2000, same year he was selected to represent Nigeria at the Sydney Olympics where he was stopped by an Italian known as Paolo Vidoz in the quarter finals but became more popular than the eventual gold medalist because of his orthodox boxing style. He was spotted by Ivaylo Gotzev who said he saw in him a “Youngman with raw power and the will to succeed”. He turned professional and has moved up in the right direction, today he is the biggest personality brand in Nigeria and probably in Africa’s sports.
As a follow up to last week’s article on the state of the pound game in our country, I did say that, it’s a laughable situation in Nigeria when an athlete who in time past is relatively unknown and given no support suddenly becomes successful you would see our administrators pouring encomium on such individual and in Samuel’s case it was exactly so. However, this week I want to x-ray, the significance of Peters’ feat, and the deplorable condition of the sport at home I will also be looking at the preparation of the Interim Champ to see if he stands a chance to be the next undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World.
The Significance of Samuel The Nigeria Nightmare” Peters Feat: A candid and concise review of the heavyweight class today will indicate that, there are not many fine fighters in the class of Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield ( in his glory days), James “Buster” Douglas and many others. You will also notice that the pound game is getting on without any American fighter in focus, except “fast” Eddie Chambers get past Alex Povetkin and becomes the number one contender to the International Boxing Federation title and that is if the unification bout been planned between Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov does not hold in February 2008 or maybe if it does hold the winner will face the American.. Lack of solid amateur background has attributed to be the major set back for American fighters and the fact that other sport in that country also pays huge purse, the youths there don’t really see reasons why they should get beaten up before they earn money. The Russians are sweeping through the heavyweight class and there seems no stopping them, no doubt they have solid armature background and tends to be well packaged, before now they hardly get to turn pro owing to the system of government that was on in the then Russia but its important to also note that they are prone to injuries especially as they grow older, only God knows what will happen if the Cuban’s embrace democracy. Africans possess solid amateur background but lacks basic infrastructure that would have put them on world map but with the performance of Samuel “The Nigeria Nightmare” Peters the door has open for African boxers with more emphasis, boxers from this continent still suffers from poor remuneration and poor family background. Now that this fact is known the promoters are likely to provide the needed motivation that these boxers require to hit the lime light. To say that there are many more Samuel Peters in Nigeria and Indeed Africa is not out of place, just like the performance of Stephen Keshi paved way for many other Nigerian and African players to ply their trade abroad so also has the performance of Samuel Peters opened up the opportunity of many other Africans to trade punches outside the shores of this continent. The world can trust that African can produce a solid, discipline and professional athlete that can handle fame. By my estimate if African boxers are properly packaged we might just be ruling the heavyweight class and if that comes to pass it will remain for a very long time because of our raw strength.
The Deplorable State of Boxing at Home: So much gap exist when one compares the success of our boxers and the management of boxing at home, a situation where the association does little or noting for the boxers in terms of welfare and provision of basic infrastructure. They know little about the travails of these prize fighters but no sooner have they hit goldmine the next thing you hear are wonderful words of praise. I am not against congratulating athlete’s when they succeed rather am of the opinion that the association should get involved in the building and making of the boxers, they should provide some form of standard for the sport. The pound game is a money spinner if well packaged. It is my firm belief that if boxing, even now, is well put together can still attract sponsors and promoters and that will translate into big money for the boxers and the sport itself, not relying on subventions from the government and fighting over estacode. Another issue that must be taking seriously, is the issue of welfare, it is laughable to note that national team boxers rely on “Agege bread and ewa” as stable food. I use this medium to plead with Samuel “The policeman” Peters to lend his voice to this condition. Our beloved president should also move from supporting Samuel Peters to supporting Boxing. The NBB of C should create modalities that will enable our boxers outside these shores to contribute to the growth of the sport.
The Training Period: The longest training period for Samuel Peters 27, was an 8weeks training session when he was billed to face Oleg Maskaev in the botched October 6th encounter at the Madison Square Garden. This time, he started training on Monday 19th of November 2007, this translates into 9weeks and 4days, and this is bad news for Maskaev (who is said to be training secretly in an undisclosed place) because in addition to this fact, he is well motivated by the awesome support here at home. The Akwa Ibom born pugilist was overwhelmed by the honour accorded him upon his arrival to Nigeria, it was indeed a kingly welcome. He met with the President Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where he was assured of government support he then conferred with Order Of the Niger: a national honour. Another moral booster came alive when the Inspector General of Police promoted the prize fighter to the position of Deputy Superintendent of police and went ahead to convert his employment from sports policeman to a regular policeman (Thumbs up for the Nigeria Police Force).
Put differently, Samuel “The Policeman” Peters is well motivated ahead of the clash come February 02, 2008, I pray Maskaev does not develop any injuries. This time Sam is aware of the expectation of the average Nigerian and has on first hand witnessed the kind of support he has here at home, that alone can boost his performance.
Meanwhile, the Maskaev camp was quick to announce their readiness to fight Samuel Peters after the McCline fight, which apparently suggest to me that they feel that Sam will be knocked out or taken out easily, well if they base their assumption on that, then they should also take into cognizance the fact that The Nigeria Nightmare is powerfully motivated this time and he is not ready to drop his position as the king of the WBC. The ears of Maskaev should also know that Samuel “The Nigeria Nightmare” Peters is now better experienced to ward off any onslaught. He also came home and has been recharged to produce a five star performance. Mention must also be made of the Don who came with the King, ofcourse you know with the Don any thing is possible, the fight may just be shifted to Nigeria, who knows.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
SCORE CARD: THE STATE OF BOXING IN NIGERIA
As the year gradually winds down, the urge to talk about boxing in my country became increasingly irresistible. The temptation swept me off balance hence am writing about the state of the game. In the past,
the pound game was so interesting that it became the number two sports in Nigeria, second only to football,the followership was massive, the excitement was top class, and it produced such rivalry among fighters that made the sport marketable. Fight’s like Jos Lasisi against Jerry Okorodudu was one of such fights.
Names like late Dick Tiger, Hogan Kid Bassey, Godwin Anyamena, Ngozika Ekwelum, Obisia Nwakpa, Hunter Clay, Joe Lasisi, Jerry Okorodudu, Hakeem Ishola and many more, became national and international icons, we had great prospect, and our boxers dominated Africa and at some point won world titles.
I remembered vividly, though as a child, I watched Godwin Anyamena win a world title at the national stadium; he was later stripped of the title.
The sport continued to enjoy followership through out the 80’s up till mid 90’s, suddenly we began to witness a decline. First the NBB of C become embroiled in power tussle, which was never resolved, owing to this, Amateur boxing suffered lots of set backs. The democratic dispensation saw some individuals
scheming for Governors to become sports association chairman, which also contributed heavily to setting the game backward, for it was clear that the intention was not primarily to develop the sports at the grass root level rather it was for other reasons. National Championship is fast becoming extinct,
the amateur show at Rowe Park, Yaba where upcoming boxers test their might, is no longer a matter of importance, the Olympic game is at hand but back home its like the game will not hold.
The nation’s amateur boxing team sweats it out at the national stadium on daily basis under the experience and watchful eyes Obisia Nwakpa,but the question is, what is the level of preparation like? How is their welfare, what is their psychological state, are they confident that they will win any medal at the Olympics? These questions must be answered before we can make impact in boxing again.
The state of boxing in our land is so worrisome, most often the only boxing news we get to hear are foreign ones. The boxing fraternity got excited recently only because of Samuel Peters, and now we have to wait until 2, February 2008 to get excited again. That apart, another time we get to hear boxing news is when Bash Ali comes up with a promotion of some sort, my only concern is why does he promote only his own fight and turns around to claim Jesus of boxing. Oscar De La Hoya is a promoter and does promote other fights other than his. But even at that, I still give kudos to Bash.
Furthermore, boxing news hits the air waves only when the plight of the game is in focus, recently coach Obisia lamented bitterly about missing a Championship abroad, which would have helped the boxers gain exposure before the Olympic Games comes up in China next year.
A quick glance at the above, would present one fact and that is I have mixed Professional boxing and Amateur boxing together, this is not because I don’t know the distinction but the truth is that both aspects of boxing is in bad shape in the land. The amateur arm is still kicking but at a very low capacity.
As I said earlier those who are into the sport are doing so purely out of passion, looking at the sports, it’s going to be difficult for parents to allow their wards take to boxing. What then is the problem of boxing in Nigeria?
Firstly, you can’t talk about building a house without a foundation. The fact is that our boxing administration’s foundation has been rocked and the focus of the association is suspect “Those who claim to be members of the NBB of C are doing nothing to promote good boxing in Nigeria” so says Hakeem Ishola, speaking further he said “I left boxing because things started to go awry in the profession. There
was no encouragement on the part of the administrators. The boxing managers do not know the sufferings of boxers. They are not interested in the welfare of boxers, it is only when those who know what professional boxing is, are brought on stage, that boxing can move forward. Ishola who is now a police inspector was trained by the legendary boxing coach Archie Moore and won a gold medal at the 1979 national sports festival, he turned pro in 1984 and became the junior lightweight champion of Africa in 1991 when he fought and won Sam Akroma of Ghana.
The situation becomes more worrisome when we understand that, the crisis in NBB of C is still on. Recently a faction of the body that is seen as the authentic executives invited the other party that is seen as fake to come on board if they are willing to do so.
These scenarios have not only forestalled the development of boxing but have made boxing become endangered “specie” and as such should be saved from extinction. Lending his voice to the situation on ground, Joe Lasisi (Former WBC Light Heavyweight number one contender) sates “it was painful that NBB of C was currently engulfed in crisis.. However, aside all this drama my major worry is how we can come up with lasting solutions that can move the sport forward. I am of the opinion that the present board be allowed to finish its tenure of in office, after which lasting structure be put in place to ensure such crisis does not arise. Am also of the opinion that people with boxing administration experience should run the sports, a situation where people who don’t have pedigree in boxing run the sport is totally confusing.
As the saying goes, when two elephant fights, it is the grass that suffers. The youths who have taken to boxing as a means of livelihood are the ones bearing the pain. This explains why most boxers prefers to move abroad at the slightest opportunity and most of them change their nationality and fight for their
adopted countries, so they can make headway in their career, an example of this is David “The Dream” Defiagbon who is now a Canadian citizen and won a silver medal for his adopted country (Canada) in 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta. Another laughable situation, is a case where the board and top government
officials pour encomium on boxers who have had hit it big whereas, in actual fact they are the ones who have tried to destroy the dream of that boxer by not providing the needed platform for development.
I use this medium to call on all those who are involved in this crisis to strive and save the sport from total extinction.
the pound game was so interesting that it became the number two sports in Nigeria, second only to football,the followership was massive, the excitement was top class, and it produced such rivalry among fighters that made the sport marketable. Fight’s like Jos Lasisi against Jerry Okorodudu was one of such fights.
Names like late Dick Tiger, Hogan Kid Bassey, Godwin Anyamena, Ngozika Ekwelum, Obisia Nwakpa, Hunter Clay, Joe Lasisi, Jerry Okorodudu, Hakeem Ishola and many more, became national and international icons, we had great prospect, and our boxers dominated Africa and at some point won world titles.
I remembered vividly, though as a child, I watched Godwin Anyamena win a world title at the national stadium; he was later stripped of the title.
The sport continued to enjoy followership through out the 80’s up till mid 90’s, suddenly we began to witness a decline. First the NBB of C become embroiled in power tussle, which was never resolved, owing to this, Amateur boxing suffered lots of set backs. The democratic dispensation saw some individuals
scheming for Governors to become sports association chairman, which also contributed heavily to setting the game backward, for it was clear that the intention was not primarily to develop the sports at the grass root level rather it was for other reasons. National Championship is fast becoming extinct,
the amateur show at Rowe Park, Yaba where upcoming boxers test their might, is no longer a matter of importance, the Olympic game is at hand but back home its like the game will not hold.
The nation’s amateur boxing team sweats it out at the national stadium on daily basis under the experience and watchful eyes Obisia Nwakpa,but the question is, what is the level of preparation like? How is their welfare, what is their psychological state, are they confident that they will win any medal at the Olympics? These questions must be answered before we can make impact in boxing again.
The state of boxing in our land is so worrisome, most often the only boxing news we get to hear are foreign ones. The boxing fraternity got excited recently only because of Samuel Peters, and now we have to wait until 2, February 2008 to get excited again. That apart, another time we get to hear boxing news is when Bash Ali comes up with a promotion of some sort, my only concern is why does he promote only his own fight and turns around to claim Jesus of boxing. Oscar De La Hoya is a promoter and does promote other fights other than his. But even at that, I still give kudos to Bash.
Furthermore, boxing news hits the air waves only when the plight of the game is in focus, recently coach Obisia lamented bitterly about missing a Championship abroad, which would have helped the boxers gain exposure before the Olympic Games comes up in China next year.
A quick glance at the above, would present one fact and that is I have mixed Professional boxing and Amateur boxing together, this is not because I don’t know the distinction but the truth is that both aspects of boxing is in bad shape in the land. The amateur arm is still kicking but at a very low capacity.
As I said earlier those who are into the sport are doing so purely out of passion, looking at the sports, it’s going to be difficult for parents to allow their wards take to boxing. What then is the problem of boxing in Nigeria?
Firstly, you can’t talk about building a house without a foundation. The fact is that our boxing administration’s foundation has been rocked and the focus of the association is suspect “Those who claim to be members of the NBB of C are doing nothing to promote good boxing in Nigeria” so says Hakeem Ishola, speaking further he said “I left boxing because things started to go awry in the profession. There
was no encouragement on the part of the administrators. The boxing managers do not know the sufferings of boxers. They are not interested in the welfare of boxers, it is only when those who know what professional boxing is, are brought on stage, that boxing can move forward. Ishola who is now a police inspector was trained by the legendary boxing coach Archie Moore and won a gold medal at the 1979 national sports festival, he turned pro in 1984 and became the junior lightweight champion of Africa in 1991 when he fought and won Sam Akroma of Ghana.
The situation becomes more worrisome when we understand that, the crisis in NBB of C is still on. Recently a faction of the body that is seen as the authentic executives invited the other party that is seen as fake to come on board if they are willing to do so.
These scenarios have not only forestalled the development of boxing but have made boxing become endangered “specie” and as such should be saved from extinction. Lending his voice to the situation on ground, Joe Lasisi (Former WBC Light Heavyweight number one contender) sates “it was painful that NBB of C was currently engulfed in crisis.. However, aside all this drama my major worry is how we can come up with lasting solutions that can move the sport forward. I am of the opinion that the present board be allowed to finish its tenure of in office, after which lasting structure be put in place to ensure such crisis does not arise. Am also of the opinion that people with boxing administration experience should run the sports, a situation where people who don’t have pedigree in boxing run the sport is totally confusing.
As the saying goes, when two elephant fights, it is the grass that suffers. The youths who have taken to boxing as a means of livelihood are the ones bearing the pain. This explains why most boxers prefers to move abroad at the slightest opportunity and most of them change their nationality and fight for their
adopted countries, so they can make headway in their career, an example of this is David “The Dream” Defiagbon who is now a Canadian citizen and won a silver medal for his adopted country (Canada) in 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta. Another laughable situation, is a case where the board and top government
officials pour encomium on boxers who have had hit it big whereas, in actual fact they are the ones who have tried to destroy the dream of that boxer by not providing the needed platform for development.
I use this medium to call on all those who are involved in this crisis to strive and save the sport from total extinction.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Eddie too Good for Brock
“Fast “Eddie Chambers was the better man after a twelve round decision proved so in his fight against Calvin “The Boxing Banker” Brock, at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash. The fight showed that Eddie has a high boxing I.Q and a great technical ability, he obviously allowed Brock tire and finished the last round strongly.
It was a fight that was filled with lots of Technicalities and Eddie proved the better fighter.
According to Ted Sares of East side Boxing, it was an enjoyable tactical fight as Brock used his jab effectively early while Chambers used fast counters to keep it close. Fast Eddie used some nice rights and extremely fast jabs to dictate the second stanza.
In the fourth stanza, there was an almost imperceptible shift as Chambers picked up the pace and used sharp counter disrupting Brock’s game plan. Still, while Brock appeared ponderous, he got off a lot of free body shots and probably led on the cards going into the fifth. Chambers was clearly waiting for Brock to tire.
By the fifth, Brock’s right eye began to swell up and Eddie, who punches in a slashing manner, went after it. As well, he began to stalk the larger man.
In the sixth, Eddie did his imitation of Jersey Joe with some relaxed shucks (facial expressions and all). Meanwhile, Brock’s blows had very little on them. One had the feeling that Chambers would open up with explosive combos at any time. Chamber did steal the round with a last minute combo.
While the fight was close going into the seventh, a relaxed Chambers was now dictating the pace. The next few rounds would reveal the success of Eddie’s fight plan; namely, to take a tired Brock into the late rounds and then pick him apart. Now he began to press the action against the slow-handed Boxing Banker, but he did not press it enough.
Brock’s face began to show some wear in the ninth, as Chambers continued the stalk, albeit cautiously. Chambers had a good ninth even taking some pot shots, though Brock kept punching back without much impact. It was now clear that Eddie’s hand speed was the decisive factor here.
Brock had a good tenth round and was hoping to catch Chambers with his hands down, but it seemed too late to matter. In the eleventh, he opened by landing some good punches, but Chambers countered with sharper punches. Brock then exploded with a monster combo, but it surprisingly did not seem to bother Chambers, who rallied in the last minute to make the round close.
Going into the last round, I had Chambers ahead and he closed the show with a decisive last round. After a long delay, the judges agreed scoring the fight in favor of Chambers by split decision. I had Chamber winning 115-113. Actually Eddie was looking to end the fight with a knock out but it didn’t happen.
I see Eddie going his way to become the number one contender for the IBF title, and Povetkin won’t pose a problem given his Intelligence. Eddie will too tough for the young Alex.
Reference: Eastside Boxing.
It was a fight that was filled with lots of Technicalities and Eddie proved the better fighter.
According to Ted Sares of East side Boxing, it was an enjoyable tactical fight as Brock used his jab effectively early while Chambers used fast counters to keep it close. Fast Eddie used some nice rights and extremely fast jabs to dictate the second stanza.
In the fourth stanza, there was an almost imperceptible shift as Chambers picked up the pace and used sharp counter disrupting Brock’s game plan. Still, while Brock appeared ponderous, he got off a lot of free body shots and probably led on the cards going into the fifth. Chambers was clearly waiting for Brock to tire.
By the fifth, Brock’s right eye began to swell up and Eddie, who punches in a slashing manner, went after it. As well, he began to stalk the larger man.
In the sixth, Eddie did his imitation of Jersey Joe with some relaxed shucks (facial expressions and all). Meanwhile, Brock’s blows had very little on them. One had the feeling that Chambers would open up with explosive combos at any time. Chamber did steal the round with a last minute combo.
While the fight was close going into the seventh, a relaxed Chambers was now dictating the pace. The next few rounds would reveal the success of Eddie’s fight plan; namely, to take a tired Brock into the late rounds and then pick him apart. Now he began to press the action against the slow-handed Boxing Banker, but he did not press it enough.
Brock’s face began to show some wear in the ninth, as Chambers continued the stalk, albeit cautiously. Chambers had a good ninth even taking some pot shots, though Brock kept punching back without much impact. It was now clear that Eddie’s hand speed was the decisive factor here.
Brock had a good tenth round and was hoping to catch Chambers with his hands down, but it seemed too late to matter. In the eleventh, he opened by landing some good punches, but Chambers countered with sharper punches. Brock then exploded with a monster combo, but it surprisingly did not seem to bother Chambers, who rallied in the last minute to make the round close.
Going into the last round, I had Chambers ahead and he closed the show with a decisive last round. After a long delay, the judges agreed scoring the fight in favor of Chambers by split decision. I had Chamber winning 115-113. Actually Eddie was looking to end the fight with a knock out but it didn’t happen.
I see Eddie going his way to become the number one contender for the IBF title, and Povetkin won’t pose a problem given his Intelligence. Eddie will too tough for the young Alex.
Reference: Eastside Boxing.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Know Your Nigerian Boxer
Richard Igbineghu (born April 21, 1968 in Ibadan) is a Nigerian boxer. At the 1992 Summer Olympics he won a Silver medal in the Men's Super Heavyweight (+91 kg) category.
Olympic Results
* Defeated Gitas Juskevicius (Lithuania), KO 2
* Defeated Svilen Rusinov (Bulgaria), 9-7
* Lost to Roberto Balado (Cuba), 2-13
Professional career
Fighting under the name Richard Bango, Igbineghu turned pro in 1994 and has had limited success. Although he began his career 16-0, Bango took three years off, from 1996-99. At the advanced age of 36, Bango took on his first real challenge, goliath Nikolay Valuev. Bango was TKO'd in the 6th round. In 2006, Bango dropped his second loss, to a young Alexander Povetkin, via a 2nd round KO.
Right Now I have no clue where he is. Please if you do inform me via fabianharty2k@yahoo.com
Olympic Results
* Defeated Gitas Juskevicius (Lithuania), KO 2
* Defeated Svilen Rusinov (Bulgaria), 9-7
* Lost to Roberto Balado (Cuba), 2-13
Professional career
Fighting under the name Richard Bango, Igbineghu turned pro in 1994 and has had limited success. Although he began his career 16-0, Bango took three years off, from 1996-99. At the advanced age of 36, Bango took on his first real challenge, goliath Nikolay Valuev. Bango was TKO'd in the 6th round. In 2006, Bango dropped his second loss, to a young Alexander Povetkin, via a 2nd round KO.
Right Now I have no clue where he is. Please if you do inform me via fabianharty2k@yahoo.com
The American Clash:BROCK VS. CHAMBERS
The second aspect of the International Boxing Federation elimination contest will hold tonight (02-11-07), Between Eddie Chambers and Calvin Brock both of the United States.
Last week in Erfurt, Germany, Russian Alexander Povetkin, 14-0 (11), the 28 year old 2004 Olympic heavyweight medalist, defeated 37 year old former two-time titlist Chris Byrd, 40-4-1 (21), it was Byrd’s father Joe who threw in the towel at 1:52 of round 11 to protect his son from further punishment. By all accounts, Byrd fought heroically, trading punches in volume, but was unable to escape the pitfalls that he faced on the ropes and was forced to take more than he was able to give, at the end the younger boxer came out tops and looks bright for a shot at the title.
However, another angle that must be taken seriously is whether the young Povetkin is really ripe for a shot at the title given his age and experience so far. I would rather prefer he gets some fight before venturing for the title. Yet even before that is considered he must get pass the challenge that would be provided by the winner of Chamber and Brock.
Looking at this fight critically it provides some hope of some sort for American boxing, at it is possible that an American will challenge for the title if all goes well, for we hear that a unification fight between Sultan Ibragimov and Wladimir Klitschko is been packaged if that come alive, the winner of the elimination contest may have to wait for an undisclosed period.
In trying to analyze this fight one will quickly discover that, the 25 year old Chambers was impressive in his last outing, dominating Dominick Guinn in his ShoBox debut and winning a convincing unanimous decision. The only blemish on the 32 year old Brock’s record is a seventh round knockout loss to the titlist Klitschko, and he obviously cannot afford to lose. A loss to Chambers would not only foil any opportunity to fight Povetkin for an opportunity to get a rematch with Klitschko, but it would create a huge uphill climb to reposition himself as a viable challenger.
Brock last fought in June against Alex Gonzales, winning a lackluster eight round decision, getting floored early in the process, in the walk out bout of the Sultan Ibragimov-Shannon Briggs card. Actually Brock came very close to fighting for the WBO heavyweight title that night. With the participation of the then champion Briggs uncertain almost up to the opening bell, the promoters had received the green light to substitute Brock to fight Ibragimov for the vacant title in the event that Briggs pulled out.
The opinion here is that Chambers will be too fast and too slick for Brock in this one. But “The Boxing Banker” does bring power, experience and craft to the table so it won’t be a walkover by any means. It just appears that, despite all of his skills, Brock seems almost too cool under fire, and the concern is whether he has that killer instinct to win the big fights. Against Klitschko he had an almost “deer in the headlights” look about him before he was stretched face first to the canvas. Insofar as Chambers and Brock are concerned, we will have a better idea of their future prospects after they face each other tonight. One would hope that the elimination series would produce a worthy challenger by mid-2008 or so. Certainly, we are all tired of seeing Klitschko being fed light opposition, as he has up to this point.
Last week in Erfurt, Germany, Russian Alexander Povetkin, 14-0 (11), the 28 year old 2004 Olympic heavyweight medalist, defeated 37 year old former two-time titlist Chris Byrd, 40-4-1 (21), it was Byrd’s father Joe who threw in the towel at 1:52 of round 11 to protect his son from further punishment. By all accounts, Byrd fought heroically, trading punches in volume, but was unable to escape the pitfalls that he faced on the ropes and was forced to take more than he was able to give, at the end the younger boxer came out tops and looks bright for a shot at the title.
However, another angle that must be taken seriously is whether the young Povetkin is really ripe for a shot at the title given his age and experience so far. I would rather prefer he gets some fight before venturing for the title. Yet even before that is considered he must get pass the challenge that would be provided by the winner of Chamber and Brock.
Looking at this fight critically it provides some hope of some sort for American boxing, at it is possible that an American will challenge for the title if all goes well, for we hear that a unification fight between Sultan Ibragimov and Wladimir Klitschko is been packaged if that come alive, the winner of the elimination contest may have to wait for an undisclosed period.
In trying to analyze this fight one will quickly discover that, the 25 year old Chambers was impressive in his last outing, dominating Dominick Guinn in his ShoBox debut and winning a convincing unanimous decision. The only blemish on the 32 year old Brock’s record is a seventh round knockout loss to the titlist Klitschko, and he obviously cannot afford to lose. A loss to Chambers would not only foil any opportunity to fight Povetkin for an opportunity to get a rematch with Klitschko, but it would create a huge uphill climb to reposition himself as a viable challenger.
Brock last fought in June against Alex Gonzales, winning a lackluster eight round decision, getting floored early in the process, in the walk out bout of the Sultan Ibragimov-Shannon Briggs card. Actually Brock came very close to fighting for the WBO heavyweight title that night. With the participation of the then champion Briggs uncertain almost up to the opening bell, the promoters had received the green light to substitute Brock to fight Ibragimov for the vacant title in the event that Briggs pulled out.
The opinion here is that Chambers will be too fast and too slick for Brock in this one. But “The Boxing Banker” does bring power, experience and craft to the table so it won’t be a walkover by any means. It just appears that, despite all of his skills, Brock seems almost too cool under fire, and the concern is whether he has that killer instinct to win the big fights. Against Klitschko he had an almost “deer in the headlights” look about him before he was stretched face first to the canvas. Insofar as Chambers and Brock are concerned, we will have a better idea of their future prospects after they face each other tonight. One would hope that the elimination series would produce a worthy challenger by mid-2008 or so. Certainly, we are all tired of seeing Klitschko being fed light opposition, as he has up to this point.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
A Possible Unification Bout
It could have been said that the most relevant fight in the heavyweight division, months ago, was the rematch between Wladimir Klitschko and Sam Peter, but it never materialized, After his victory against James Toney, Peter acquired prestige –it’s amazing what a single fight can do– but now that prestige has diminished. After his Pyrrhic victory over Jameel McCline, a man that wasn’t even close to the Top 20, a lot have been talked about the mistakes and errors of Peter, and it has been said that he possesses a “glass jaw," who knows..
What is certain is that the value of a rematch between Klitschko and Peter has decreased; now the most important fights, the ones that would decide who the Champion is, are other ones. In my opinion, there are two: Wladimir Klitschko versus Sultan Ibragimov or Wladimir Klitschko versus Ruslan Chagaev. For the moment, Samuel Peter is excluded from the equation, at least until he defeats Oleg Maskaev (if he defeats him, which is not sure).
How close are we from a fight between Klitschko and Chagaev or Ibragimov? There haven’t been rumors of a fight between Klitschko and Chagaev. Now that the World Boxing Association belt holder has recuperated from his illness, he could do something remarkable and accept a fight against another titlist (without taking a tune-up first). But will he do it? His mandatory will be probably the winner of Liakhovich-Valuev, so he is free for some months. A fight between Wladimir and Sultan is more probable. According to recent news, the Klitschko camp has already started negotiations with Ibragimov. We can only hope that they will make an agreement. Ibragimov, let’s remember, has Tony Thompson as his mandatory challenger, but that fight can wait. Klitschko is free, his next mandatory will be the winner of the tournament between Povetkin, Byrd, Chambers and Brock.
Meanwhile, the World Boxing Council has its hands full with other things. After the fight between Maskaev and Peter, the winner will have to fight against Vitali Klitschko (if he plans to return anyway) and then against Juan Carlos Gomez or whoever is their next mandatory challenger. Forget about the World Boxing Council.
In retrospective, it is incredible that just some months ago unification would have been easy to organize. But there wasn’t luck. Wladimir Klitschko’s injury occurred post-Brewster and also the cancellation of the duel between Chagaev and Ibragimov. Let’s hope that the rest of time we have to wait isn’t too much. Almost four years have passed since Lennox Lewis retired.
What is certain is that the value of a rematch between Klitschko and Peter has decreased; now the most important fights, the ones that would decide who the Champion is, are other ones. In my opinion, there are two: Wladimir Klitschko versus Sultan Ibragimov or Wladimir Klitschko versus Ruslan Chagaev. For the moment, Samuel Peter is excluded from the equation, at least until he defeats Oleg Maskaev (if he defeats him, which is not sure).
How close are we from a fight between Klitschko and Chagaev or Ibragimov? There haven’t been rumors of a fight between Klitschko and Chagaev. Now that the World Boxing Association belt holder has recuperated from his illness, he could do something remarkable and accept a fight against another titlist (without taking a tune-up first). But will he do it? His mandatory will be probably the winner of Liakhovich-Valuev, so he is free for some months. A fight between Wladimir and Sultan is more probable. According to recent news, the Klitschko camp has already started negotiations with Ibragimov. We can only hope that they will make an agreement. Ibragimov, let’s remember, has Tony Thompson as his mandatory challenger, but that fight can wait. Klitschko is free, his next mandatory will be the winner of the tournament between Povetkin, Byrd, Chambers and Brock.
Meanwhile, the World Boxing Council has its hands full with other things. After the fight between Maskaev and Peter, the winner will have to fight against Vitali Klitschko (if he plans to return anyway) and then against Juan Carlos Gomez or whoever is their next mandatory challenger. Forget about the World Boxing Council.
In retrospective, it is incredible that just some months ago unification would have been easy to organize. But there wasn’t luck. Wladimir Klitschko’s injury occurred post-Brewster and also the cancellation of the duel between Chagaev and Ibragimov. Let’s hope that the rest of time we have to wait isn’t too much. Almost four years have passed since Lennox Lewis retired.
QUEST FOR GLAMOUR II
The heavyweight class is the most glamorous section in boxing: in my opinion. It encompasses all aspect of life: politics, finance, marketing, promotions, discipline and many other qualities.
It is a total package. In other words before a fight takes place a lot had happened behind the scene. I remembered how I glue to our black and white TV set, those days to watch chuka Momah present the big fight of the decade. The program usually gets people seated to watch the analylical depth of the presenter and the manner he adds glamour to the fights, it was a pure show of distinct.
The sport had names like Rocky Marciano, Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, later names like ken Norton, George foreman, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Leon Spinks and the greet one – Mohammed Ali. Another era erupted and names like mike Tyson, Frank Bruno, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Michael Mooer, Oliver McCall, Evander Holyfield, Hasim Rahman, James Douglas etc. Mention should also be made of Michael Spinks (the younger brother of Leon Spinks (even though he was knocked out in round one by Mike Tyson) who as a light heavyweight withstood Larry Holmes and conquered him. At this point the sport enjoyed great followership, the names of this prize fighters was on every ones lips and they enjoyed greet popularity, appearing in many commercials. As Mohammed Ali puts it “I’m the most recognized and loved man that ever lived cuz there weren’t no satellites when Jesus and Mosses were around, so people far away in the villages didn’t know about them”. As regards popularity around the globe, the sports and the major player enjoyed massive coverage. They were more popular than some heads of states. When the Ali –Foreman fight was held in Zaire (now, Congo DR) it drew so much attention. The nation stood still for them. Today the heavy weight class is facing a decline in followership and glamour. Some fighters have showed that they can’t manage the fame that comes from the sport. Outside the ring, some of today’s fighters can’t be trusted. Another noticeable fact is that, the American isn’t there at least for now. When Rahman lost to Oleg Maskaev, it was a clean sweep. All the world titles are in the hands of Russians. According to Bob Arum before the Rahman – Maskaev fight, he said Rahman is America’s last line of defense “, and so far it has proven so Rahman knew it also when he said “I need to hold it down for my country. If I lose this fight, I let me down. My family down, my team down and my country down” after making such patriotic comment, need I say that Rahman is still down. It was he who was expected to hold up the American dream.
Another issue that should be taking seriously is the fact that, the glamour is huge when an American is the Heavyweight Champion. One may want to ask, why I have moved from a global picture to a specific one. Well, one can’t talk about the heavyweight division without mentioning the American’s, they bring in the trills that makes the pound game enjoyable and use friendly or put differently watching friendly.
So where has all the big men gone? This situation is so disturbing and the first to speak is smoking Joe Frazier. In his words “We don’t even know who the Heavyweight Champion is, all these crazy sanctioning belts they‘ve got. Do you know who it is “well, there’s the WBA’s Ruslan Chagaev of Russia, IBF king Wladimir klitschko of Ukraine and WBO Sultan Ibragimov . But we only know, because it is our job to know- and even we are not sure of the spellings”. We have seen the attitude of these boxer, pulling out of schedule fights, this is not in taking away anything from them, it must be said also, that the Russians or betters still boxer from the old Russia have very solid amateur background, they remain amateur till they are about 25years old before they turn pro, but in America they turn pro at 16, 12 and 18 and if you don’t get the experience in the amateur system you are in the world of trouble. “Amateur boxing is like high school or college. It’s where you learn about the real world.
Legendary trainers, Emmanuel Steward of America add’s: the Europeans system of teaching the basics of boxing is superior to America. Another angle to it, is that African – American the main stay of the heavyweight scene for the last 50 years are no longer filtering into boxing the reason is so simple, as stated by Al Mitchell ( former head coach U.S Olympic boxing team) “there are so many ways to get rich now in America”
This trend has continued and away from America, here in Africa apart from Nigerians such Friday Ahunaya, Albert Eremosele, David Defiagbon, David Izon( who is fighting as an American) and Samuel Peters no notable African is seen around the heavyweight class. To talk about boxing back home is to open up some wounds that require some form of divine surgery to rectify. In South Africa the game is fair, well organized and fights still holds but the caliber of boxer it turns out is suspect and I doubt if they can get close to a world title fight.
A quick glance at the heavyweight class presents Champions who are well above 30years and some close to 40years, frankly the game is for young men. The age of some the current heavyweight champs may just be the reason, injuries is springing up every now and then. A more serious trend is the fact that in America, the youths are taking to other sports, back home the game is in bad shape, we don’t get to write local content news on boxing except Bash Ali comes up with a fight or you hear Obisia Nwakpa complaining about visas and not been able to go for championships. The youths here are obviously doing something else because the sports is no longer attractive, those who are still taking to boxing do so purely out of passion. The worries of many of us enthusiast is the way forward, how to bring back the glamour of the sport that once made me glue to the T.V set. That quest may not be close, “the immediate future of heavyweight boxing across the Atlantic does not look good” so says Smoking Joe Frazier, who himself ruled the heavyweight division for three years. He continues, “The guys don’t train right, some trainers today never had gloves in their lives. Back in the old days trainers would know the fight game and know what to tell the guys to do. With boxing more than any sports you really have to know what you are talking about and I add, if not, you might be directing someone to the dream land. At the moment I think the Russians and perhaps other European countries will rule the heavyweight until Samuel Peters comes up to restore the glamour of the heavyweight. However, we should not lose sight of upcoming young American by the name Isaiah Thomas, he is been trained by the Legendary Emmanuel Steward, he is 6ft,4inc tall and he won the under 17 heavy weight title in Liverpool at the age of 16 and should be featuring in the 2008 Olympics. Another great prospect is Alexander Povetkin who was billed to fight Chris Byrd in Germany, yet these fighters are not in the class of the vocal, Mohammed Ali, or any of those in fighters in Tyson’s days. The picture looks bleak and the glory days may not be coming back soon, yet like a circle, I see the return of the glamour of the heavyweight, where the fire works will surpass those days, the excitement is about to be unleashed like never before.
It is a total package. In other words before a fight takes place a lot had happened behind the scene. I remembered how I glue to our black and white TV set, those days to watch chuka Momah present the big fight of the decade. The program usually gets people seated to watch the analylical depth of the presenter and the manner he adds glamour to the fights, it was a pure show of distinct.
The sport had names like Rocky Marciano, Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, later names like ken Norton, George foreman, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Leon Spinks and the greet one – Mohammed Ali. Another era erupted and names like mike Tyson, Frank Bruno, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Michael Mooer, Oliver McCall, Evander Holyfield, Hasim Rahman, James Douglas etc. Mention should also be made of Michael Spinks (the younger brother of Leon Spinks (even though he was knocked out in round one by Mike Tyson) who as a light heavyweight withstood Larry Holmes and conquered him. At this point the sport enjoyed great followership, the names of this prize fighters was on every ones lips and they enjoyed greet popularity, appearing in many commercials. As Mohammed Ali puts it “I’m the most recognized and loved man that ever lived cuz there weren’t no satellites when Jesus and Mosses were around, so people far away in the villages didn’t know about them”. As regards popularity around the globe, the sports and the major player enjoyed massive coverage. They were more popular than some heads of states. When the Ali –Foreman fight was held in Zaire (now, Congo DR) it drew so much attention. The nation stood still for them. Today the heavy weight class is facing a decline in followership and glamour. Some fighters have showed that they can’t manage the fame that comes from the sport. Outside the ring, some of today’s fighters can’t be trusted. Another noticeable fact is that, the American isn’t there at least for now. When Rahman lost to Oleg Maskaev, it was a clean sweep. All the world titles are in the hands of Russians. According to Bob Arum before the Rahman – Maskaev fight, he said Rahman is America’s last line of defense “, and so far it has proven so Rahman knew it also when he said “I need to hold it down for my country. If I lose this fight, I let me down. My family down, my team down and my country down” after making such patriotic comment, need I say that Rahman is still down. It was he who was expected to hold up the American dream.
Another issue that should be taking seriously is the fact that, the glamour is huge when an American is the Heavyweight Champion. One may want to ask, why I have moved from a global picture to a specific one. Well, one can’t talk about the heavyweight division without mentioning the American’s, they bring in the trills that makes the pound game enjoyable and use friendly or put differently watching friendly.
So where has all the big men gone? This situation is so disturbing and the first to speak is smoking Joe Frazier. In his words “We don’t even know who the Heavyweight Champion is, all these crazy sanctioning belts they‘ve got. Do you know who it is “well, there’s the WBA’s Ruslan Chagaev of Russia, IBF king Wladimir klitschko of Ukraine and WBO Sultan Ibragimov . But we only know, because it is our job to know- and even we are not sure of the spellings”. We have seen the attitude of these boxer, pulling out of schedule fights, this is not in taking away anything from them, it must be said also, that the Russians or betters still boxer from the old Russia have very solid amateur background, they remain amateur till they are about 25years old before they turn pro, but in America they turn pro at 16, 12 and 18 and if you don’t get the experience in the amateur system you are in the world of trouble. “Amateur boxing is like high school or college. It’s where you learn about the real world.
Legendary trainers, Emmanuel Steward of America add’s: the Europeans system of teaching the basics of boxing is superior to America. Another angle to it, is that African – American the main stay of the heavyweight scene for the last 50 years are no longer filtering into boxing the reason is so simple, as stated by Al Mitchell ( former head coach U.S Olympic boxing team) “there are so many ways to get rich now in America”
This trend has continued and away from America, here in Africa apart from Nigerians such Friday Ahunaya, Albert Eremosele, David Defiagbon, David Izon( who is fighting as an American) and Samuel Peters no notable African is seen around the heavyweight class. To talk about boxing back home is to open up some wounds that require some form of divine surgery to rectify. In South Africa the game is fair, well organized and fights still holds but the caliber of boxer it turns out is suspect and I doubt if they can get close to a world title fight.
A quick glance at the heavyweight class presents Champions who are well above 30years and some close to 40years, frankly the game is for young men. The age of some the current heavyweight champs may just be the reason, injuries is springing up every now and then. A more serious trend is the fact that in America, the youths are taking to other sports, back home the game is in bad shape, we don’t get to write local content news on boxing except Bash Ali comes up with a fight or you hear Obisia Nwakpa complaining about visas and not been able to go for championships. The youths here are obviously doing something else because the sports is no longer attractive, those who are still taking to boxing do so purely out of passion. The worries of many of us enthusiast is the way forward, how to bring back the glamour of the sport that once made me glue to the T.V set. That quest may not be close, “the immediate future of heavyweight boxing across the Atlantic does not look good” so says Smoking Joe Frazier, who himself ruled the heavyweight division for three years. He continues, “The guys don’t train right, some trainers today never had gloves in their lives. Back in the old days trainers would know the fight game and know what to tell the guys to do. With boxing more than any sports you really have to know what you are talking about and I add, if not, you might be directing someone to the dream land. At the moment I think the Russians and perhaps other European countries will rule the heavyweight until Samuel Peters comes up to restore the glamour of the heavyweight. However, we should not lose sight of upcoming young American by the name Isaiah Thomas, he is been trained by the Legendary Emmanuel Steward, he is 6ft,4inc tall and he won the under 17 heavy weight title in Liverpool at the age of 16 and should be featuring in the 2008 Olympics. Another great prospect is Alexander Povetkin who was billed to fight Chris Byrd in Germany, yet these fighters are not in the class of the vocal, Mohammed Ali, or any of those in fighters in Tyson’s days. The picture looks bleak and the glory days may not be coming back soon, yet like a circle, I see the return of the glamour of the heavyweight, where the fire works will surpass those days, the excitement is about to be unleashed like never before.
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