Khan vs. Alexander: East meets West at the crossroads

12/15/201412/12/2014 Chris Carlson

Contender crossroads is the theme heading into Saturday nights Showtime main event from the MGM Grand in the city that never sleeps Las Vegas. If Amir wins he will be in line for a huge fight. If Devon wins he saves a once promising career.

For the last two years the only thing that Amir Kahn talks about in interviews is Floyd Mayweather. That and how he’s made significant improvements to his tool belt as a boxer. If Amir Khan can be 75% as good as he thinks he is major fights will be on tap for 2015 and beyond.

Slowly but surely the tide is turning in Khan’s favor for landing Mayweather. There is a small swell of fans who think Khan is being ducked because of his skill set and speed. Meanwhile, his handlers have been carefully matching him after Danny Garcia stopped Khan in the summer of 2012.

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Crawford vs Beltran Preview & Prediction

11/29/201411/29/2014 Chris Carlson

Rising star Terrence Crawford and tough-as-nails Ray Beltran meet in the ring on the man with the nickname “Bud” home turf. Still at 135 Crawford has made a name for himself with two impressive wins so far this year.

The first came over seas in Scotland when Crawford took on the 135 pound Champion Ricky Burns. Once Crawford got past some early slow moments he dominated the Scot, in the process it put him on the lightweight map.

In his first defense Crawford took less money to give his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska its first major title fight since the 1930’s (Check). His opponent was a decorated Cuban amateur Yurioirkis Gamboa, who like Terrence came in with an unblemished record intact.

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Fury vs. Chisora 2 Preview & Prediction

11/29/201411/29/2014 Chris Carlson

Boxing fans have plenty to be thankful for with a jam-packed holiday weekend which includes a return trip to Omaha on HBO Championship Boxing and a rematch across the pond between much hated Heavyweight rivals.

Let’s start with a rematch pitting Tyson Fury against Derrick Chisora at the ExCel Arena from Dockland, London. These two characters met over four years ago in a back and forth fight that saw Tyson Fury walk away victorious.

The combatants traded punches and rounds until somewhere in the middle the pace slowed to a crawl with both fighters gassed. Fury’s excessive holding and Chisora’s inactivity made for an uneven contest.

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Pacquiao vs. Algieri: The Macau Massacre 2?

11/21/2014 Chris Carlson

The place is Macau. A PPV perceived mismatch eerily similar to Manny’s last trip in China. Will Pacquiao pick up where he left off last November when he white-washed face-first mauler Brandon Rios? Or will the upstart Chris Algieri do the unthinkable halfway across the globe?

Bob Arum continues his eastern experiment establishing the sport we love to hate in the Communist Republic of China. Top Rank’s fearless leader is banking on the billion plus eyeballs he can attract to the tube and a live streaming PPV. Zou Shiming and Manny Pacquaio lead the charge of taken China by storm. The process has provided opportunities on the PPV undercard and more importantly given unheralded fighters an outlet to showcase their talents on HBO 2. All from the Venetian hotel and casino site-fee that fattens Bob’s bottom line.

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Hopkins vs. Kovalev: The legend of longevity versus the Krusher

11/08/201411/07/2014 Chris Carlson

Once again in a major fight, Bernard Hopkins will be the underdog entering the ring against Sergey Kovalev, live from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on HBO. The Krusher is known for being amongst the top power punchers in boxing. The question remains whether Kovalev has enough savvy to deliver that firepower. Will Bhop shun the critics and oddsmakers yet again?

At 49 years old most of us in the general public have full schedules that keep us occupied. Whether busy with work demands or family oriented/personal activities. Odds are your not training for a professional prizefight at the highest level in the sport, one that involves real physical damage and is mentally challenging as any.

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Soliman vs. Taylor: Bad intentions in Biloxi

10/08/2014 Chris Carlson

Jermain Taylor returns from a sabbatical of sorts to challenge Sam Soliman for his IBF middleweight belt. The card will be broadcasted live on Espn2 from the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Boxing adviser extraordinaire Al Haymon, known for his mysterious persona, has a way of giving his clients the best possible deal and boxing fans the shaft. His mismatches on Showtime have underlined a subpar 2014, coming off an energized 2013.

When I first heard this fight being announced it wasn’t so much how but why. I’m not one to take money out of the next mans pockets but this fight is more than a shame.

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Stevens vs. N’Dam: Where the rubber meets the road

10/02/201410/01/2014 Chris Carlson

Espn2 Friday Night Fights is back, but not for the season, rather a double dip of sorts that kicks off Wednesday night in Southern California at the Barker Hangar. The winner of Wednesday’s bout will be in line for a title shot facing the winner of Wednesday’s fight between Jermain Taylor and Sam Soliman, which will also be broadcasted by Espn.

A few years ago, and 8 pounds north of his current weight class, Curtis Stevens was on a path leading to nowhere fast on the world level. Stevens, known for his power in both hands, struggled mightily with the likes of Jessie Brinkley and Marcos Primera.

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Mayweather -Maidana 2: To box or not to box that is the question?

09/12/201409/12/2014 Chris Carlson

Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana will meet once again at the MGM Grand Garden Arena this Saturday night live on Showtime PPV. Will Chino’s melee create “Mayhem”, or will it be muscle memory for the money man?

Damn near everyone is convinced that Floyd Mayweather will do a number on Marcos Maidana in the rematch. Isn’t this the same sentiment most fans had prior to the first go round? Maidana was a huge underdog at the sports book, ranging from 12-1 all the way up to 15-1 on a few betting website.

Even though Marcos gave Floyd by far his toughest and roughest fight of his career, barley any one gives him a real chance to get the job done against the future Hall-of-famer.

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The problem returns home and the machine plans feast on Ortiz’s “0”

09/06/2014 Chris Carlson

Adrien Broner put his foot down in order to obtain home field advantage in the city of Cincinnati against the sturdy Emmanuel Taylor. Coming off a fight of the year win, Lucas Matthysse takes on Roberto Ortiz, who has never lost a fight as a professional. The Showtime tripleheader’s first bout will be between Andre Berto and Steve Upsher Chambers.

In his last fight Adrien Broner was unspectacular, ho-humming his way to a decision versus Carlos Molina. Many fans craved for Broner to face a top flight junior welterweight. Instead he will face Emmanuel Taylor, who is fresh off his best victory over Karim Mayfield.

As Broner’s star began to rise many media members and followers of the sweet science overrated him. His close points win against Ponce De Leon was chalked up as a learning experience.

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Gonzalez vs. Yaegashi + Estrada vs. Segura = Flyweight Wars

09/05/201409/04/2014 Chris Carlson

The Flyweight division doesn’t normally get the same attention or recognition as the fighters do at Welterweight, Super Middleweight, or the heavily debated Super Bantamweight. This week on two smaller networks beIN sports espanol and A.W.E., 4 Flyweights will battle for future paydays, pride, legacy, and unification supremacy.

Both fights feature similar stylistic matchmaking, the traditional puncher versus boxer match-up. In this case the boxer-types being Estrada and Yaegashi, have plenty of power and will engage in a brawl when the rubber hits the road.

The last few years Roman Gonzalez has been knocking on the door of elite status. This weekend presents a chance to kick that door in. Hardcore followers in the Western Hemisphere rave about “Chocolatito” aggression and knockout power, having stopped 33 opponents to go along with his 39 wins.

Roman Gonzalez was on the outside looking in on the pound for pound list because of a lackluster resume. After a somewhat softer run at 108, Gonzalez earned a signature win against Juan Francisco Estrada in a highly entertaining and competitive bout.

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