ISSUE 13 Is The American Dream too much for Canelo?

BOXINGMADMAGAZINE.COM JULY 2014 issue 13

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Is The American Dream too much for Canelo?

THE ATTRACTION OF BOXING issue #13 JULY 2014

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t n te EDITORS NOTES Greetings fight fans and welcome to issue 13 of BMM, where the main focus falls on the huge light middleweight clash between Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Erislandy Lara in Las Vegas. With the fight just around the corner, our writer Peter Wells takes a look at just how dangerous a test Lara is for Canelo, with defeat not an option for the muchhyped Mexican.

We also take a look at the upcoming action on British shores, with the bumper bill in Liverpool featuring rivals Tony Bellew and Nathan Cleverly covered right down to the undercard. All that and much more along with the recent fight reports and all the other big news. Hope you enjoy reading.

Creative Department Creative Director: Callum Harris Senior Designer: Callum Harris

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Senior Manager: Callum Harris CONTACT: calharris09@hotmail.co.uk

Writers Adam Canavan / Stevie Adams Jack Sumner / EDITOR Sam C Coulter / Peter Wells / Jordan Stone

Jack Sumner

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Date: JULY 8/7/14

GEORGE GROVES MAKES A SWIFT RETURN TO THE RING

George Groves makes a swift return to the ring himself after his mega-fight with Carl Froch in May ended in knockout defeat, as he challenges European champion Christopher Rebrasse in September, in a fight that also acts as a final eliminator for Sakio Bika’s WBC super middleweight crown. Should Groves get past Rebrasse, a potential meeting with Bika is mooted as early as December . Sticking with those returning to action, former world champions Abner Mares and Juanma Lopez feature on the Canelo-Lara undercard this weekend, with both men in hugely important bouts at the MGM Grand, but for different reasons.

Mares is fighting for the first time since his shock first-round knockout defeat to Jhonny Gonzalez last August and

nothing but a convincing win against Jonathan Oquendo will suffice as he aims to earn himself a rematch with his sole conqueror. For Lopez, well the Puerto Rican was thought to be finished after Mikey Garcia handed him his third brutal knockout defeat in as many years last June, but he rebounded to once again stop Daniel Ponce de Leon in March and keep his faltering career alive. If he were to suffer defeat to unbeaten prospect Francisco Vargas this weekend however, you’d have to think that would be the end of “JuanMa” at least at the top level of the sport.JULY 2014 issue #13 04

Date: JULY 7/7/14

BROOK PORTER AUGUST 16TH The venue for Kell Brook’s date with destiny against Shawn Porter has finally been confirmed, with the StubHub Center in California hosting the fight on August 16th. The card will also feature Omar Figueroa in a title defence against Daniel Estrada and Sakio Bika’s rematch with Anthony Dirrell to complete a world-title tripleheader.

RUNDOWN

Elsewhere, Josesito Lopez is expected to return to the ring before the end of the summer and the IBF have ordered a middleweight title eliminator between former title challengers Curtis Stevens and Hassan N’Dam, for the right to fight champion Sam Soliman. After his impressive knockout of Yuriorkis Gamboa, Terrance Crawford is being lined to up to next defend his lightweight crown against Raymundo Beltran in November. Meanwhile, Gamboa’s promoter 50 Cent reportedly lost a $1 Million bet with rapper “Webbie” over the outcome of the Crawford-Gamboa clash. . .

e n t NE W S

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Mayweather-Maidana II in New York? It’s long been known that Floyd Mayweather’s next fight would be on September 13th, but speculation had been rife over who the pound-for-pound king would choose as his dance partner for the showdown on the Mexican holiday weekend. The sport’s most marketable fighter broke his silence last week however, unofficially announcing that Argentine slugger Marcos Maidana would get a second bite at the cherry after running Floyd close in May. There are suggestions that the fight could take place in New York, with Mayweather recently claiming a promoter’s licence in the state. A trip to the Barclays Center or Madison Square Garden would be Floyd’s first fight outside of Las Vegas in almost nine years, with his last nine fights being staged at the MGM Grand.

Amir Khan still hopes to land his dream date with the unbeaten 37-year-old and though ruled out for September due to Ramadan, the 27-year-old Brit stands a realistic chance of fighting Floyd next May. But the former light welterweight titleholder was reportedly involved in a skirmish outside of the ring last week, when the Bolton native was arrested by police in his hometown for allegedly assaulting two male teenagers.

Khan was detained by police on assault charges after a disagreement with the youths, but after being released on bail, charges were dropped by the backpedalling claimants on Monday. With the situation resolved, hopefully the next time we here of Khan’s exploits with his fists is when he returns to action later this year.

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The Attraction of Boxing: At a very early stage in my life, when I was no older than 10-years-old, I found myself enthralled by the sport of boxing.

The idea of two men stepping through the ropes with the common goal of being the better man is utterly mesmerizing and it has got me totally hooked, like a drug that I simply cannot kick.

To watch two men beat the hell out of each other for twelve pulsating rounds of action, action filled with blood,

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sweat and tears, is truly exhilarating. There really isn’t anything that compares to witnessing a live championship bout contested by two quality fighters.

It isn’t only the sport that intrigues me, it is the people involved with the sport that are the most interesting. The contrasting lives and personalities of the boxers, trainers and promoters, and the paths they take in the search for glory.

The sweet science is full of remarkable characters - ex-

traordinary people who transcend the sport and become household names throughout the world.

The modern era of pugilism is dominated by a wonderful boxer named Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather, a defensive genius with immaculate timing and accuracy, is the highest paid sportsman on the planet, and he is undefeated in 46 outings. His fights are the highest grossing boxing events and the opponent is never

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expected to end the excellent extroverts winning streak. One of the most remarkable men in the history of all sports, let alone just boxing, is my hero, Muhammad Ali. The Louisville Lip is arguably the greatest heavyweight that has ever lived. He was rambunctious, irritating and infuriating. But he was honorable, brave and true.

In the ring Ali was fearless, and he possessed lightning fast hands, balletic footwork, a granite chin and the heart of a dozen lions.

Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay, did things his way, regardless of the consequences.

After opening a can of whoop ass on the seemingly unbeatable “Big Ugly Bear”, Sonny Liston, in 1964 to win the world heavyweight title, and after successfully defending the belt nine times from 1964 through 1967, ‘The Greatest’ refused induction into the United States Army and was stripped of the title.

Unable to box due to the revocation of his license and facing a potential prison sentence, Ali stayed true to his cause and his religious beliefs, and fought the biggest fight of his life. He refused to go to war to kill innocent people, and he refused to give in to the demands of the American Government.

On June 28th, 1971, the Supreme Court in “Clay vs United States” overturned Ali’s conviction by an 8-0 unanimous decision. He was declared a free man and he resumed his career in the prize ring.

He had fought the good fight and he had won.

In 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire, Ali regained the world heavyweight championship by knocking out George Foreman in one of the best fights of all time.

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Foreman, like Liston, was considered unbeatable. He was a murderous puncher, he was big and he was strong. He could maim a man with a single punch from either paw and few fighters wanted anything to do with him.

Not only did people think Foreman would win by knockout, there was also a genuine concern for Ali’s health. The fired up Ali didn’t care what people thought, though, because he knew what was going to happen and he knew he would be too ring savvy for ‘Big George’.

Ali went on to lose and regain the title for an unprecedented third time before retiring in 1981.

Ali, now in his seventies and suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, is still fighting the good fight. He is fighting for world peace.

He is loved, cherished and adored in every city, town and village in the world. He truly is what he always said he is - he is the worlds greatest.

For every great man in boxing, there is a nemesis - a man who isn’t in awe of the superstar. When the two men come into contact, sparks fly and a rivalry is created. In boxing, rivalries are good. The public love rivalries and they divide opinion, thus selling more tickets and bringing in more revenue.

The aforementioned Muhammad Ali fought the rock solid Joe Frazier on three occasions, losing once and winning twice, and their rivalry will never be forgotten.

The competition between the pair of great champions came to a thrilling and breathtaking end in 1974 when they squared off in an iconic fight, named “Thrilla in Manila”. It was an explosive and hard-fought 14 round war that Ali won when ‘Smokin Joe’ retired on his stool with both eyes badly damaged.

Often there is bad blood between the two combatants. In the build-up to a big fight, a man’s emotions can run wild and tempers can flare. After all, they are starving themselves to make the required weight limit and they are forced to leave their families for lengthy spells whilst they’re in training camp.

Boxers are special human beings, they are proud human beings. And they go into battle in the knowledge that their lives are in danger. One badly timed insult from the man in the opposite corner can cause a boiling and uncontrollable rage. What started out as a simple boxing match can rapidly become a mission to seek and destroy the enemy in

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the most brutal fashion.

As fans, we love the heated encounte

The fierce, bad tempered and unforg bank and Nigel Benn are synonymou

The fancily dressed, monocle wearing brawler with devastating power in bo on a nightclub door when the fight w that he wholeheartedly hated Eubank

Eubank overcame the fiery Benn in th the better man in the return. Despite resulted in a draw at the end of the r he knew Benn had bested him.

Nowadays, the Hall of Fame-worthy share a special bond that only two fig one another’s blood, the former mid champions have grown a mutual adm

Of course, both men are much more rience, both in the sport and in life in from the days when they wanted to b

Imagine that – two men who have ph literally taken each other to the abso actually shake hands and warmly em

Beyond the ring, Eubank and Benn s that goes beyond machismo and bra ful fighters and they were both great psychological torture of knowing tha another man’s life. They have both in nent whilst in the ring.

Michael Watson had dominated Eub Lane in 1991. He was by far the bette certain victory, before Eubank unleas that flattened Watson. What came ne

Benn inflicted permanent injuries on named Gerald McClellan in 1995. ‘Th of the best fighters in the world, pou had claimed 29 knockouts and he ha

ers. We even crave them.

gettable scraps between Chris Euus with British boxing fans.

g Eubank cruelly told Benn, a mean oth hands, that he would be working was over. And Benn gladly admitted k.

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his last 10 fights. The American was described as a “Mini Mike Tyson” and he was expected to annihilate Benn in the first round. He very nearly did just that.

After being knocked clean out of the ring in the first round, the ex-soldier retaliated with fury and began to break down the tenacious powerhouse.

The fight will never be forgotten. It was one of the most barbaric and brutal fights ever. Every single punch was thrown with bad intentions and the world found itself in a state of shock.

heir first meeting, but Benn was e the controversial scorecards that rematch, Eubank later admitted that

Both Watson and McClellan suffered terrible brain injuries that changed their lives for the worse, forever.

gladiators are actually civil. They ghters can share. Having tasted ddleweight and super middleweight miration.

Nevertheless, every cloud has a silver lining. Those horrific incidents have played a key part in making sure that every professional boxing event is properly overseen by the correct medical personnel. If anything tragic should occur in a ring now, the injured warrior would receive medical attention immediately.

e mature now. They have more expen general, and they have moved on beat the hell out of each other.

hysically beaten each other and have olute limit of human tolerance, can mbrace upon meeting.

share something else. Something avado. Yes, they were both wondert champions. But they also share the at they have permanently damaged nflicted tragic injuries to an oppo-

bank for 11 rounds at White Hart er man and he was closing in on a shed an incredible right uppercut ext was, and is, heartbreaking.

a nasty and hard Detroit man he G-Man’ was considered to be one und for pound. Out of 31 wins, he ad won in the first round in eight of

That is the sad side of boxing, the side that people try not to talk about.

For all of the good and bad things in the sport, the appeal is so strong that even filmmakers keep reverting to the noble art for their next blockbuster. Films like the Rocky series, Raging Bull, The Hurricane, Million Dollar Baby and Resurrecting The Champ - to name a few - have been hugely successful at the box office.

Why is boxing so attractive and magnetic? I think it’s because nothing is a certainty in the squared circle.

Red hot favourites get knocked out by ten-to-one underdogs. Strange things happen, like ‘The Fan Man’ at Bowe - Holyfield. Last minute disputes can cause fights to be postponed. And referees can make terrible blunders that affect the outcome of fights.

But maybe the attraction is the romance. The realisation that with hard work and dedication, great things can be achieved. After all, the greatest fighters throughout history have all come from nothing. They have had to beg, steal and borrow to get to the top, and they have travelled the long and bumpy road with the world looking in on them.

STEVIE ADAMS

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W E L EL B S V Y L R E V parture from Frank Warren E promotions and the following CL legal disputes seemed to scupIn October 2011, bitter rivals Nathan Cleverly & Tony Bellew went to war for the WBO light heavyweight title and now they’re on a collision course to meet again three years on.

The first battle between the pair was one of the flagship fights for the then newly formed Boxnation. It was a gripping encounter and contender for domestic fight of the year; the aggressive prefight verbals definitely translated into action in the ring.

There was a fast pace from the off with the Liverpudlian picking up an early lead and displaying a classy jab through four rounds. Cleverly responded with some lovely body punching and inside work in the next two rounds to even the fight up. Bellew was seemingly struggling with the pace

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that Cleverly set through the middle rounds, but despite that he continued to maintain his own high workrate.

The action continued to ebb and flow until the final bell; it went right to the wire, either man could’ve got the nod, but in the end the judges gave it to Nathan Cleverly and he retained his title by majority decision (scores of 114-114, 117-112 & 116-113).

The immediate rematch seemed nailed on, it made perfect sense. There was an already existing rivalry, history between the pair and the first fight was a crowd pleaser.

However, Tony Bellew’s de-

per any chance of a rematch.

Nathan Cleverly continued his reign as champion four

months on as he took on the uninspiring Tommy Karpency and won every round en route to a unanimous decision. Two months later, on a Coldwell & Matchroom co-promotion on Sky, Bellew took on Danny Mcintosh for the British title, he produced a stunning knockout in the fourth round.

Bellew signed with Matchroom not long after, making the much anticipated rematch with

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Cleverly look even further away as the Welshman stayed with rival promoter Frank Warren.

His next win was much less convincing as, in September of 2012, he stopped Edison Miranda in the 9th round of a fairly laboured performance, although a win is a win and this was arguably the best of his career up until that point.

Both Cleverly & Bellew fought in November of that year. Nathan Cleverly traveled to America to fight Shane Hawk in another lacklustre defence on the undercard of Abner Mares vs Anselmo Moreno: Cleverly easily dispatched of Hawk, who was game but overmatched, in eight rounds. A week later Bellew took on Roberto Bolonti of Argentina. Bolonti had a pretty looking record, on paper, of 30(19)-1 but it had little substance to it. Bellew easily outpointed Bolonti despite being cut in the first round, Bellew also had Bolonti down in the first and third rounds but it was a less than thrilling encounter.

Following that Bellew fought Isaac Chilemba, easily his toughest fight to that date, in what was effectively a WBC final eliminator. The Malawi born “Golden Boy” was an awkward and slippery opponent for the Liverpudlian to figure out, it was a messy and scrappy fight throughout and it ended with the judges giving their verdict as a split draw, which (bizarrely) left Bellew asking why he didn’t get the benefit of the doubt as the hometown fighter, whereas most spectators thought that Chilemba deserved to get the nod and the fans also had a sour taste left in their mouths as Bellew failed to live up to his pre-fight talk, and not for the

first time. Unlike with the Cleverly fight, an immediate rematch was made for the Froch-Kessler II undercard as Bellew was keen to set the record straight. Bellew seemed to have solved the problem of Chilemba’s style, displaying his best weapon, his jab, consistently at it’s best finding the mark. Whilst it was still a close fight, Bellew was undoubtedly the deserved winner this time around and secured his shot against the winner of the fight between Chad Dawson and Adonis Stevenson, which happened to be the latter as Stevenson pulled out one of the upsets of the year and also one of the knockouts of the year.

In the meantime Cleverly picked up a decent but, yet again, not totally stirring win on his record against Robin Krasniqi. It was a good performance and Cleverly cruised to a wide Unanimous decision. Four months later Cleverly’s biggest test as champion was upon him, a defence against the avoided, fierce, Russian puncher Sergey Kovalev. This was a huge fight, one that Cleverly’s fans and critics alike were longing for, and most people knew the risk that came with fighting someone like Kovalev.

There were a few people however who were making comparison’s to Joe Calzaghe’s fight with Jeff Lacy, but it turned out that Kovalev was far from just hype. His concussive power was evident early on and the fight was over within four rounds as Krusher Kovalev lived up to his nickname, ‘krushing’ the then undefeated Welshman.

A few months on it was Bellew’s turn to take on a fearsome puncher, travelling to Canada to take on Adonis Stevenson in his second attempt at a world title. Unfortunately he didn’t fare too much better than Cleverly, he was stopped in the sixth round, but he wasn’t without success as he was able to stun the lineal champion in the fourth round, other than that it was not a good night for him though.

Following their defeats, both Bellew and Cleverly decided that making light heavyweight was the main issue and they both decided to move up to cruiserweight, although Cleverly took much longer to decide on his future as the nature of his sole defeat clearly hit him hard. Bellew made his cruiserweight debut in

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BOXING MAD MAGAZINE March of this year against the veteran campaigner Valery Brudov. Even though he got off to a great start, knocking Brudov down in the second and sixth rounds, it was far from an easy night for Bellew.

He struggled with Brudov’s jab throughout the fight and was in a really bad place in the seventh round where Brudov had him hurt badly only to land a low blow, which could’ve arguably saved Bellew from being stopped and saved his career.

Despite his struggles, Bellew managed to pull out a big shot to knock Brudov down in the final round which caused Brudov to break his foot during the fall and leaving him unable to get up.

Not too long after the Brudov fight, it was announced that Nathan Cleverly had signed a deal with Matchroom and would make his return in Cardiff in May, nine months after his defeat to Kovalev, and all of a sudden the rematch that most people thought had disappeared suddenly looked a lot more plausible again.

He came up against Shawn Corbin and suffered with none of the troubles that Bellew did, but against an, admittedly, easier opponent, as he dispatched of Corbin in two rounds.

Bellew has a much sterner test, on paper at least, as he takes on Julio Cesar Dos Santos from Brazil who has a reputation as a bit of a puncher, with a record 26(23)-2, although there isn’t much substance in his win column to verify whether that reputation is deserved or not. The only recognisable name on his record is Dmytro Kucher and he lost every round in that fight on all three judges scorecards, however he is certainly more solid than Cleverly’s opponent. Dos Santos is pretty basic in terms of his boxing ability but, to his credit, he seems quite tough and doesnt take a backwards step, he seems to have good stamina and sets a decent pace, which are some of the thing Bellew struggled with against Brudov, although Dos Santos probably doesn’t have the guile or experience of Brudov. Bellew should be able to box rings around Dos Santos as the Brazilian has very little head movement, getting him out of there is another matter though and it would be a testament to Bellew’s rekindled power if he could.

If both men win then it looks likely that the rematch between the pair will take place in October or November, but against opponents like these it’s not just getting the win, it’s about winning comfortably. These should be routine wins and if they’re struggling with opponents like Valori and Dos Santos then that might wane the interest in the rematch, which would be a shame as it’s been a lomg time coming, but hopefully both Bellew and Cleverly win in the fashion that they should be winning in so we can have yet another huge domestic clash!

And now we come to July 12th, as both fighters are scheduled to appear on a bill in Liverpool, aptly name ‘Collision Course’. Nathan Cleverly comes up against Alejandro Emilio Valori, from Argentina, who has a record of 15(11)-4(3).

There aren’t really a lot of positive things to say about this opponent; there aren’t any noticeable names on his record, he’s ADAM CANAVAN been knocked out early in 3 of his 4 losses by pretty poor fighters and he doesn’t particularly do anything that well himself, I will be very surprised if he provides any sort of test for Cleverly, we should end up with a result similar to that of the Corbin fight.

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BOXING MAD MAGAZINE and was doing the much better work in the early rounds.

The switch-hitting Crawford changed to the southpaw stance in the third round and it didn’t seem to be effective initially as he kept getting caught. This was however to prove a masterstroke in the long-run. Crawford began to land well to the body and from the fourth round onwards became more effective in the fight. Gamboa was floored in the fifth with a sharp right and left as he rushed in and suddenly, the fight had been turned on it’s head as Gamboa looked on wobbly legs.

From there Crawford began to dominate with his jab and really time his shots well, punishing the risks that the shorter Gamboa had to take in order to land. The size difference was starting to become a real advantage for Crawford as the fight continued in what was thrilling action with the Cuban getting hurt several times.

The eighth round consisted of both men going toe to toe and trading their shots but Gamboa was forced to the floor again with a hard counter from Crawford. The champion really piled on the pressure and the challenger was starting to take a beating but remained determined.

The ninth and final round was an excellent one with Crawford getting stunned by a big shot and both men choosing to really force the pace. But Gamboa got caught with a big left hook and hit the canvas again.

He returned to his feet and was brave in trying to fight back but it was all to no avail as he was floored again by a barrage of big shots. Referee Genaro Rodriguez stepped in and stopped the fight.

Two very skilful and courageous men gave it everything in a fight that is hard to put into words just how entertaining it was. It was truly fantastic action which, for once, more than lived up to the pre-fight hype.

There is now a real buzz about Crawford after he showed undeniable class in the way in which he dealt with an extremely talented fighter. Yes Gamboa looked a bit small and isn’t a natural

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but given his amateur pedigree and professional record, Crawford did exceptionally well particularly after the start that Gamboa made.

Crawford was patient early on and his ability to fight out of both the orthodox and southpaw stance is very rare. Not many fighters out there have the courage to fight in anything but their natural stance but even those who do so could only dream of doing it with the skill in which Crawford does. Fight stats highlighted Crawford’s timing and accuracy with 42-per-cent of his punches landing in comparison to 24-per-cent for Gamboa. Crawford also landed more punches in the fight.

Experts at ringside, including the great Roy Jones, were very excited by Crawford’s performance and about what he can go on to achieve in the sport.

He will have to remain level headed and continue to work hard but if he does so he can perhaps go on to become a multi-weight champion and a crossover star.

SAM C COULTER

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Collision Course: Undercard preview Another huge Matchroom

on veteran and hard hitting

wins from six professional

show returns to Liverpool

Matt Skelton as his excit-

contests so far following his

with the main focus being

ing journey continues on

gold medal win at the Lon-

on cruiserweight rivals Tony

the way to a possible future

don games, with promoter

Bellew and Nathan Clever-

world title.

Eddie Hearn acknowledging the need to step up compe-

ly but the action is not just about those two, with a big

London 2012 hero Joshua

tition, starting with Skelton

night for two of the city’s

returns to the ring for the

on Saturday night.

four famous Smith brothers

first time since opening the

in the offing. Callum Smith

show at Wembley on the

Callum Smith is arguably

returns to his hometown

Froch-Groves II undercard,

British boxing’s most prom-

after his emphatic knockout

but 47-year-old former

ising prospect and along

of Tobias Webb in Cardiff

British, Commonwealth and

with another claimant to

to take on Vladine Biosse,

European champion Skel-

that mantle in Joshua, is

whilst his brother Stephen

ton stands in his way. The

back in action on his way

Smith is also in action on

Bedford Bear looks to test

to future titles as he takes

the card as he defends his

another young prospect

on Vladine Biosse from the

WBC silver super feather-

having recently been in the

USA. Biosse recently went

weight strap against a yet

ring with David Price, where

ten rounds with J’Leon Love

un-named opponent.

he made an explosive start

before being stopped in

Meanwhile, hard-hitting

but was knocked out in the

the final round and will be a

Olympic gold medallist

second round. Joshua knows

good test for Smith who has

Anthony Joshua attempts to

the pressure is on him to

never been past six. With

step up in levels, by taking

succeed after six knockout

nine of Smith’s eleven op-

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opponents to date stopped inside the distance, the two anomalies were victories over four rounds in his first two fights, so the hugely talented 24-year-old will be taken into unknown territory if Biosse can extend him for the full thirty minutes.

As mentioned, one of Callum’s brothers Stephen also appears on the bill as he defends his WBC Silver crown, but an opponent is yet to be confirmed. A stay busy fight, ‘Swifty’ is ticking over as promoter Eddie Hearn attempts to land him a world title shot in the near future. With half of the fighting family in action, brothers Liam and Paul are not in action this weekend, with the former slated to defend his British light middleweight title against Sheffield’s Nav Mansouri on July 26th and the latter in talks to fight Arthur Abraham for the WBO Super Middleweight title.

All three of the exciting prospects featured however should come away with victories on Saturday night, though they’ll all be tested no doubt, each gaining vital experience that will serve them well on their way to future glory. One thing is certain, that the Liverpool fight fans are guaranteed a great night of boxing with some of Britain’s brightest prospects on show.

JORDAN STONE

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BOXING MAD MAGAZINE

Is The American Dream too much for Canelo?

Ahead of one of the biggest fights of the year, Peter Wells weighs up the problems that Erislandy Lara will bring to the table against the favoured Saul Alvarez

By Peter Wells: It will never be an easy job for Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez to shake off the fashion in which he was beaten by aging but still brilliant pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. An early opportunity at gaining boxing immortality has gone by, but the rebuilding job has now begun. In his way is an obstacle that no one wants to face, high risk and low reward. Erislandy Lara is the traffic light that just doesn’t turn green; the awkward and exceptionally unpredictable Cuban has racked up an impressive resume in just twenty-two fights – (19-1-2, 12 KO’s).

Lara was fast-tracked to a fight with the tricky Carlos Molina whom he seemed slightly lucky to escape a draw with. Not his finest hour, but Molina’s unattractive style can make even the best fighters look average – and a still developing Lara was always in deep. That was followed up by a controversial defeat to the inspirational Paul Williams.

The two judges that scored the contest in favour of Williams were given lengthy bans. That was the first in a striking run of performances, beating middleweight world title challenger Ronald Hearns in one round before dominating Freddy Hernandez over ten.

In the middle of his run was an off night against another unattractive opponent in the once touted Vanes Martirosyan. The fight was called off due to cuts after 9 uneventful rounds. The bout was scored a technical draw. On the other side of that disappointing encounter, Lara went to war with fearsome Alfredo Angulo. Dropped twice, Lara rose to stop Angulo in the tenth round. Then, in his most recent outing last December, Lara dominated Austin Trout over twelve rounds, showing a variety of skill that many expect to see from a Cuban native.

Which Lara will show up to meet Alvarez is hard to fathom. Will it be the one that stood back and admired his occasional work against Molina and Martirosyan? Will it be the one that went toe-to-

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toe with Angulo, or will it be the Lara that used all of his assets to his full advantage against Williams and Trout? One would assume that Alvarez must bank on it being the latter. Lara can seem on another level when he reaches his full potential in the ring, but in his short yet eventful career he has thus far not found a consistency to project him to the level he seemingly belongs at.

A four-inch reach advantage in favour of Lara could prove to be the toughest obstacle to overcome.

Lara used that reach, combined with speed, to such great effect when he dominated Austin Trout.

Canelo’s recent struggles against Mayweather and Trout came thanks to good movement and solid long range punching. But will Lara’s higher work rate compared to Mayweather and Trout be a help or hindrance to Alvarez? Can the Mexican use Lara’s high output against him to find his way inside, or will it further leave Alvarez on the outside looking in?

These questions will be answered on Saturday July 12th, as the two face off in arguably the most anticipated fight of the year. The pay-per-view event is set to take place at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, with close-circuit television screening the extravaganza on the big screen at theatres throughout the States.

Canelo (43-1-1, 31 KO’s) is coming off the back of a comfortable win over Alfredo Angulo (TKO 10), the forward marches of Angulo suiting the accurate and hard hitting Alvarez down to the ground.

Prior to his harsh lesson with Mayweather he was fortunate to take victory over Austin Trout with such wide scorecards. The opinion of boxing fans is close to being split on who should have won the fight, but Trout was more than good value if he had taken the nod.

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When faced by hard to hit opponents, Alvarez has been seen to look for the perfect shot too much. While when connecting he is more effective, he is easily outworked, and the pace of hand and foot of Lara could cause the Mexican idol all sorts of problems. At this stage in their respective careers Lara is faster than Mayweather and he certainly seems to hit harder. The one thing that drags Lara down a peg is that he is much easier to hit, sometimes waiting in the pocket too long, or standing in awe of his own work. Having said that, Trout could barely manage to lay a finger on ‘The American Dream’ over twelve rounds. If Trout was too slow for Lara then it must be a concern of Alvarez’s team that the same fate could await their fighter.

Had this fight taken place prior to the Mayweather encounter then in hindsight it may have been a done deal that Lara would win – albeit Alvarez would have been a big favourite. Alvarez’s approach to Floyd’s style showed he had little idea of how to find his way inside, and it may have been much the same story against Lara. Now however Canelo should have learnt from his mistakes, but can he actually capitalise on what he learnt that night? Or will it once again be a case of easier said than done? Surely Lara will take inspiration from the way Alvarez struggled with Trout and Mayweather.

even if he is more conservative with his punch selection.

While Alvarez and his team will be locked into these problems that Lara can cause for the Mexican, the one thing they cannot be looking ahead to is the implications of victory or defeat. Victory would be seen as the biggest win of his career thus far, and would ultimately underline his standing as the top 154lb fighter – noting that Floyd Mayweather is fighting back at welterweight. Lucrative match-ups with Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin and Manny Pacquiao would all lie in the near future.

Defeat however would be devastating. He would be further labelled as a fighter who can’t handle quick and intelligent movement, although it may not take away those mouth-watering match-ups. Any chances of gearing up for a rematch with Floyd Mayweather would be out of the window and an Austin Trout rematch would possibly be his best option.

Also while Alvarez is a bigger puncher than Angulo, Lara can take confidence from the bombs he stood up to against Angulo, or the way he bounced back up from two knockdowns. But it may also be a sign that enough constant pressure can be the way to breaking this stylist down. Alvarez can be just as effective at cutting the ring down, issue #13 JULY 2014

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Lara on the other hand would likely be in thick water either way. A defeat would leave him back at square one, similar to where he was left after defeat to Paul Williams or the technical draw with Vanes Martirosyan.

Victory may not bring much to the table either, noted as an avoided fighter; a win over Canelo Alvarez will not encourage the other 154lb champions to take him on. And would Floyd Mayweather risk it all against such a tricky opponent who did such an impressive job on a quality boxer like Trout?

Then again a victory over Canelo on his resume would make Lara more of a high risk, high reward type opponent. Defeat would leave him trapped in the ‘who needs him’ category.

While I will not give my prediction for the fight I will end on this note. A great boxer always beats a great fighter. Is this Erislandy Lara’s time to become a great boxer?

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