Reaction
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is the real deal. There were plenty of question marks over Canelo’s head going into Saturday’s unification showdown with Austin Trout, could he handle a genuine light middleweight? The answer was yes and Canelo looked good in doing so. The fight was closer than a couple of the judges made it (118-109, 116-111 and 115-112) but the right man won and Trout was refreshingly humble in defeat despite losing for the first time as a professional.
Canelo looked the more powerful throughout and scored an impressive knockdown in the seventh session although Trout recovered well. The bout did go back and forth throughout but it was Canelo who had overall control and cut off the ring well.
The Mexican sensation extended his record to 42 wins with just one draw and seemingly has the world at his feet now atop of the 154lbs division. Will Floyd Mayweather dare to take him on?
Tyson Fury made a dramatic winning debut on American soil when knocking Steve Cunningham clean out at Madison Square Garden Theater. Fury was more than a bit fired up for this one and met the equally eager Cunningham head on in the first round. The overly aggressive strategy lasted less than six minutes as the American floored Fury with an overhand right in the second. Fury didn’t look too shaken but still encounted some scary moments in the following rounds.
By the sixth session it was clear Fury’s power was beginning to dominate and Cunningham was slowing. Fury, with the help of his left forearm to set Cunningham up, landed a massive right hook and the American was out for the count. Fury and his team celebrated wildly and I won’t mention the post-fight singing from the big man.
He might not be the best heavyweight boxer on the planet but Fury is entertaining for sure.
Nathan Cleverly’s title defence against Robin Krasniqi was as expected – flashy at times, workmanlike at others and getting dragged into a brawl more often than needed. Two ringside judges had it a complete shutout for the Welshman who retained his WBO light heavyweight title without making the statement which was needed. No more mandatories for a while please.
Dereck Chisora returned on the Wembley Arena undercard and made hard work of getting rid of Argentine lump Hector Avila. Chisora is still right in the British heavyweight mix and could face Fury in a rematch sometime soon.
Up in Blackpool Brian Rose needed all 12 of the rounds to dispose of light middleweight veteran Joachim Alcine. The Canadian visitor frustrated Rose throughout the fight and used his experience to ‘old man’ Rose at times. It was another learning experience for the vastly improved Rose and I think he’ll need at least a couple more fights at this level before even thinking about a world title shot.
This Week’s Action
Amir Khan’s ‘homecoming’ isn’t quite how he and his American promoters planned it. Just under two years ago Khan owned two slices of the light welterweight title chaos, since then he’s lost twice (once via big knockout). A change in trainer followed with a comeback against an easy opponent in December. Now Golden Boy have decided to bring Khan back to the UK in a city where support for him certainly isn’t boiling over. Kell Brook is Sheffield’s boxing hero and Khan has made a concerted effort to bad mouth Brook over the last few years.
Khan is a strong favourite (best price 1/10) to beat Julio Diaz (15/2) and should get the job done with some ease. 33-year-old Diaz has lost seven times (five by KO) in 48 fights and couldn’t even get past world no.30 Shawn Porter in a 10 rounder last time out (split decision draw). The last time Diaz stepped up to anything near world level he was convincingly stopped by Kendall Holt in three rounds.
Khan’s undoubted speed will cause Diaz all sorts of trouble here and I see nothing other than a Khan KO. Likely to be more a culmination of damage rather than a stunning knockout, much like Khan’s last fight against Carlos Molina.
Fraudley Harrison, yes I still refuse to refer to him by his real name, features on the Sheffield undercard as he takes on Golden Boy knockout machine Deontay Wilder. Surprising, this is the first time in nearly three years Harrison goes into a fight NOT billed as his last chance saloon. In a way, this fight has gone under the radar but you have to give the 41-year-old credit for happily agreeing to fight what looks such a formidable test on paper.
Wilder’s record appears impressive, 27fights 25 KOs, not the type of guy you’d expect the often gunshy Harrison to be taking on. But Fraudley isn’t as daft as he often sounds and must fancy the job to springboard him towards his world title ‘destiny’. I’m no expert on American heavyweights (and nor do I want to be) but a man with a perfect record on paper is only ranked at eight by our friends at BoxRec so he must have faced some pretty ordinary opponents in his five year career. And Wilder is obviously not a big ticket seller if Golden Boy are sending him to sunny Sheffield to face the bloke who could only land one punch on David Haye.
As you’d expect, Wilder is a big favourite with the bookies at 1/6 with the KO at just 1/4. Harrison is a 6/1 shot for the win and 8/1 to let his destructive left hand detonate on Wilder’s untested chin. The form book no doubt points to a Wilder KO win but Harrison is arguably on a career high and would love to upset the American visitor. Hard to find a bet here with Wilder such a strong favourite.
Martin Murray faces a mammoth task in Buenos Aires on Saturday. Fighting middleweight number one Sergio Martinez in his backyard is possibly the toughest test an English boxer has ever faced. There’s not many divisions in world boxing where fans and experts agree on a single top dog but the middleweight division is one, Sergio Martinez is the best 160lbs fighter on the planet and has been for a couple of years.
Martinez hasn’t fought in his native Argentina for 11 years and a national hero he very much is. Even Lionel Messi couldn’t beat him in a vote for Argentine sports personality of the year in 2012.
Make no mistake, Murray is going to need a miracle to win on the scorecards here and a Murray KO win looks similarly unlikely – Martinez hasn’t been stopped in 13 years and Murray isn’t a knockout artist by any means.
Martinez put on a boxing master class for 11 rounds against Julio Chavez Jnr in late 2012 before catching a big shot in the last round and dramatically visiting the canvas. The 38-year-old managed to hold on and later had knee surgery. Martinez looks after himself away from the ring but you have to wonder when Father Time will catch up with him. I expect Murray to hear the final bell on Saturday night but can’t see him winning seven rounds in front of 50,000+ Argentines. Murray has an orthodox style and sticks to a game plan well, as he showed against Felix Sturm in December 2010, and could control some of the action from centre ring whilst the unpredictable Martinez creates angles on the outside. There’s no reason to question Murray’s chin at this stage so I’m somewhat surprised to find Martinez at 2/1 to score a points win with little value in the outrights at 1/6 Martinez and 1/5 Murray.
You can be sure Amir Khan will be staying up late on Saturday night to watch light welterweight rival Danny Garcia take on former foe Zab Judah with Garcia’s WBC and WBA titles on the line. In an absolutely absurd arrangement, Golden Boy plan to match the winner of this with the winner of Lucas Matthysse Lamont Peterson for the right to face non-title holder Khan.
If Judah was six or seven years younger I’d be backing him heavily to win this fight. I still maintain Garcia will be outboxed one day soon but Judah no longer has the youth and speed to perform as he once could. Funnily enough, the aforementioned Khan put in a career best performance against Judah in 2011 and completely dominated him en route to a fifth round stoppage. Since then Judah has only fought once and hardly deserves another title shot in a hot division.
I get the feeling this is one last payday for Judah and it’s no surprise to see Garcia as a 2/11 favourite. 4/9 for the Garcia KO is plenty short enough but if that potent left hook lands it’ll be game (and career) over for 35-year-old Judah. Garcia will struggle to nail down Judah early doors as the veteran floats about the ring so looking at a second half stoppage for ‘Swift’ looks the way forward here at 13/5.
The News
Matchroom have made yet another big name signing. They get a mention in this section most weeks and this edition is no different after Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell put pen to paper on a professional contract. Campbell is a genuinely big draw in his native Hull and will top the bill in his home town in early July. Incredibly the debutant will be fighting in an open air stadium – that doesn’t often happen.
Kell Brook looks set to feature on the undercard in a low key contest to keep him ticking over before potential welterweight title fights later in the year.
The Bet
I’m pleasantly surprised see the Sergio Martinez points win on offer at 2/1 and this is where I’ll be getting involved this weekend.
Of the rest a Danny Garcia stoppage rounds 7-12 looks the next best at 13/5.
Quote Of The Week
“We know what we need to do. He is a great fighter but he makes a lot of mistakes and we are looking to capitalise on them.”
Julio Diaz knows a win over Amir Khan will put him back in the title mix but history shows Diaz struggles at world level.
