02.11.07 – By Ted Sares: “Fast” Eddie Chambers displayed his techincal skills tonight in Tacoma as he beat Calvin “The Boxing Banker” Brock.
Despite the non-stop jabber of announcers Charles and Farhood, 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.
Anyone who thinks Alexander Povetkin will have his way with Chambers had better study the tapes. He comes focused and definitely ready to fight. He also has a high boxer’s IQ.