Lebedev destroys Kolodziej; Drozd defeats Wlodarczyk

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WBC challenger Grigory Drozd (39-1, 27 KOs) did a good job of outworking World Boxing Council cruiserweight champion Krzysztof “Diablo” Wlodarczyk (49-3-1, 35 KOs) on Saturday night to beat him by a 12 round unanimous decision at the Dynamo Palace of Sports in Moscow, Russia.

Wlodarczyk was waiting too long to let his shots off in each round, and this enabled the much busier Drozd to win rounds based on being busier.

In the past, Wlodarczyk was able to win many of his fights simply by overpowering his busier opponents, but that didn’t work tonight. Drozd was able to take the best shots from Wlodarczyk and keep coming forward to land his own punches. Wlodarczyk was knocked down in the 8th round. Drozd did a good job of shutting Wlodarczyk down in the last half of the fight when he was trying hard to score a knockout.

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Felix Sturm battles Robert Stieglitz on 11/8 in Stuttgart, Germany

Felix Sturm battles Robert Stieglitz on 11/8 in Stuttgart, Germany

Former IBF/WBA/WBO middleweight champion Felix Sturm (39-4-2, 18 KOs) and former WBO 168 pound title holder Robert Stieglitz (47-4, 27 KOs) will share the ring on November 8th at the Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The fight is being talked about as being a WBO super middleweight eliminator bout. The winner would then get to face WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham. Stieglitz is no stranger to Abraham because he’s already fought him three times in the last 2 years, and if he beats Sturm, he could get a 4th fight against him.

One can only wonder how many times Abraham and Stieglitz will wind up facing each other before they both retire because a 4th fight is pretty much a given at this point.

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Robert Stieglitz vs. Felix Sturm on November 8th in WBO 168lb title eliminator

Robert Stieglitz vs. Felix Sturm on November 8th in WBO 168lb title eliminator

Former two time WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (47-4, 27 KOs) will be facing former IBF/WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm (39-4-2, 18 KOs) on November 8th in a WBO super middleweight title eliminator bout at the Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The winner of the Stiegltiz-Sturm fight will become the WBO mandatory challenger for WBO 168lb champion Arthur Abraham. For the #1 WBO Stieglitz this potentially gives him a chance to fight Abraham for the 4th time in just 3 years.

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Huck decisions Larghetti; Boytsov defeats Musafarov

Huck decisions Larghetti; Boytsov defeats Musafarov

In a fight much tougher than expected, WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (38-2-1, 27 KOs) had to battle hard to defeat the game fringe contender Mirko Larghetti (21-1, 13 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision tonight to retain his WBO title at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. The final judges scores were 116-112, 116-112 and 118-110. The last score was ridiculous. Larghetti dominated most of the fight, and he definitely didn’t deserve to lose by an 118-110 score.

With little time remaining in the 12th, Huck hurt the 31-year-old Larghetti with a big right hand after cornering him. Huck then unloaded a flurry of shots until Larghetti hit the canvas. Larghetti was knocked down after the bell. He was knocked out, but the referee said that he was knocked out after the bell.

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Marco Huck vs. Mirko Larghetti tonight in Germany

Marco Huck vs. Mirko Larghetti tonight in Germany

WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (37-2-1, 26 KOs) will be looking to tie former WBO cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson’s record for the most title defenses at 13 tonight in Huck’s fight against #12 WBO Mirko Larghetti (21-0, 13 KOs) at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Huck, 29, is virtually guaranteed to tie and eventually break the record because Larghetti is someone who is so far out of his league in this fight that it’s hardly even worth mentioning. Huck is clearly going to win this fight unless he suffers some kind of injury.

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Pulev stuck waiting for Wladimir to heal up

Pulev stuck waiting for Wladimir to heal up

IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11 KOs) got some bad news on Monday about his opponent IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52 KOs) suffering an injury to his left biceps while training.

There fight, originally scheduled for September 6th, has been moved back tentatively to November sometime at the O2 World Arena in Hamburg, Germany. The date of the fight depends on how quickly Wladimir’s bicep tear heals. We are talking about a 38-year-old man, so it’s possible that it could need more time than November if the healing is slow.

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Klitschko vs. Pulev: Kubrat’s lack of power puts him at a huge disadvantage

Klitschko vs. Pulev: Kubrat’s lack of power puts him at a huge disadvantage

#1 IBF Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11 KOs) has done a good job of staying unbeaten enough to get a title shot against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (62-2, 52 KOs) on September 6th at the O2 World Arena, Altona, in Hamburg, Germany.

Without any punching power to speak of, Pulev is ready at a huge disadvantage against the 6’6” Wladimir in this fight. Up until now, Pulev has been little more than a tall jabbing machine. He gets by with his superb jab and his sound defensive skills.

With his jab, long reach, and his retreating style of fighting, he’s been able to beat everyone that his promoters at Sauerland Events have put in front of him thus far during his career. Sauerland has done a good job of being strategic with their match-making.

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Marco Huck vs. Mirko Larghetti this Saturday in Germany

Marco Huck vs. Mirko Larghetti this Saturday in Germany

WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (37-2-1, 26 KOs) will be taking what should be a very easily voluntary title defense this Saturday, August 30th against fringe contender #12 WBO Mirko Larghett (21-0, 13 KOs) at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

This will be the 29-year-old Huck’s 13th title defense of his WBO strap that he won back in 2009 with a 12 round decision over Victor Ramirez.

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Klitschko working with 15 sparring partners to get ready for Pulev

Klitschko working with 15 sparring partners to get ready for Pulev

IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52 KOs) is reportedly working really hard in training camp for his title defense against #1 IBF Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11 KOs) on September 6th at the O2 World Arena in Hamburg, Germany.

Wladimir is training in Austria, and he’s working with 15 sparring partners, one of which is 2012 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist Anthony Joshua. With Wladimir’s deep pockets, he can afford to have a large number of sparring partners and in train in beautiful surroundings.

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Anthony Joshua sparring with Wladimir Klitschko to get him ready for Kubrat Pulev fight

joshua552012 super heavyweight gold medalist Anthony Joshua is in Austria sparring with IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52 KOs) to get him ready for his fight next month against unbeaten #1 IBF Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11 KOs) at the O2 World Arena in Hamburg, Germany.

Joshua will be at the Klitschko camp for 10 days of sparring, which should help both fighters improve. This is great for Joshua because he gets to improve his game while at the same time seeing how far apart he is with Wladimir in terms of talent.

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