Ridiculous power from Kovalev.
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Ridiculous power from Kovalev.
Damn!
First KO punch landed in a funny spot, on the back left of his head. As perfect a short right as it was, I think it was one of those that caused more damage from the angle it snapped his head back, and then the whiplash when he fell. The second KO though...lol. That was just vicious.
Sillakh probably shouldn't have even been allowed to finish. When the ref signaled for the fight to continue, Sillakh was still staring at the referee. Not even looking in Kovalev's direction.
We have to get Kovalev/Stevenson now. I guess the only real question is, how well can Kovalev deal with power from a southpaw stance? If the answer is even "pretty good" he'll put Stevenson to sleep.
Stevenson will not be able to hang with Kovalev. But who will be? Maybe the two best fights that could be made in the sport now are Ward-Golovkin and Ward-Kovalev. Those are the only two guys on earth who might be able to beat Andre Ward.
In other news, Paul Spadafora finally lost a fight. Mostly because he fought a real opponent for the first time in forever, but still.
Big weekend.
I've got some not so popular opinions on a few of the fights.
I like Lara +105. I know Trout is gonna run a bit, and he'll probably be more active, but I think you need an effective jab to disrupt Lara. Trout's jab isn't particularly accurate or effective. I believe that Lara will have success countering Trout. Lara also has surprisingly long reach considering his height. He won't have to work his way inside in order to touch Trout. I've touted Lara for a long time, maybe he won't make me look bad.
I've also got Paulie Malignaggi +155. If he fights similar to the Broner fight, I think he wins a decision. People are talking about Zab like he's some devastating puncher that can knock Paulie out. I'm not sure where this is coming from. He's got that uppercut, and not much else. And Paulie's chin is solid. Barring something strange, this should go the distance. I think Malignaggi's work rate wins it for him. Epic post fight interview if Paulie is robbed in Brooklyn.
I like Felix Sturm +105 over Darren Barker. I like Barker. Seems like a nice guy. Good fighter. But if Sturm is on his game (questionable) and doesn't clam up like he tends to do (also questionable) he's simply the better fighter. I feel like it's do or die now for Sturm. He needs this one. It's also in Germany, which doesn't mean what it once meant, but it still favors Sturm.
I have Guillermo Rigondeaux by decision -160 over Joseph Agbeko. Treading lightly here, because Rigondeaux could be looking to impress, with all the talk of HBO not wanting to put him on TV because of his style of fighting. Even so, Agbeko is tough as fuck. It won't be easy to get him out of there.
I also have Devon Alexander by decision -164 over Shawn Porter. I'll happily lose this one, if it means that Porter gets a shot at bigger things, while disrupting a possible Mayweather/Alexander fight in the future. I do believe that Alexander is a small step above Porter, though.
Still waiting around on the Anthony Dirrell/Sakio Bika line. Anything close and I'll play Dirrell. Anything wide and it's Bika or nothing. Dirrell should win it, but Bika's live for sure. If Dirrell can blast him out, I'll be seriously impressed.
Glen Tapia vs. James Kirkland is on the undercard of the Rigondeaux fight, I think. It's only a 10 rounder. Hoping to get a line on it. I'll be playing Tapia most likely. I think he's got the tools to beat Kirkland. He isn't going to punch himself out in the first round, and spend the rest of the fight standing flat footed in front of Kirkland until he gets stopped, the way Angulo did. This is a tough fight from a layoff for Kirkland.
OK, so I like Trout over Lara for whatever reason, style matchup blah blah - that's my best guess on a coin flip.
I like Malignaggi to win v. Judah, so obv at +150 or whatever he's the way to go.
I'm picking Porter in the upset over Alexander, partly just because I like Shawn Porter, but also because I believe he might be about to overachieve.
I like Dirrell over the going-to-lose-his-title-soon-one-way-or-the-other Sakio Bika.
Obv Rigo wins easy v. King Kong.
Like Tapia over the aggravatingly stupid James Kirkland.
Rooting for Barker over Sturm, just because I'm sick of Sturm.
I'm super psyched about tonight. I'm excited about every SHO fight. What a card.
Sturm stopped Barker in the 2nd round.
Props to Shawn Porter. Glad he got that upset win.
Fucking Tapia. Couldn't handle Kirkland's power. Meh.
Good call on that Porter upset Hex.
Got the Rigo, Sturm, Paulie, and Lara fights.
First of all, I love to watch Rigondeaux fight. I don't understand why he gets so much shit for being so good. I don't think watching someone fight that skillfully is boring at all. Agbeko was no competition, but it was yet another fantastic performance. If more people understood the sport, he'd be a star. I can't believe Arum wants to throw Lomachenko in with that guy in like his third fight. It's hard to picture anybody having more than a puncher's chance against Rigo.
James Kirkland is an amazing offensive fighter. No defense of any kind, obv, but not many guys I've ever seen can pound away like that. He essentially ended Tapia's career. Kirkland's gonna get a big fight against somebody now, that's for sure. Also, I wish I could go with Ann Wolfe to bars and have her beat the fucking shit out of dudes who think they're tough.
Zab looks like a shot fighter, and Paulie is still very impressive. Guy is in tip-top condition, that's for sure. There are so many good fights that can be made at welterweight, and I think Paulie has a good shot against almost everyone in the division. He kept himself extremely viable with that performance, that's for sure.
I called the Porter upset of Alexander, but I thought his win had more to do with Alexander's inability to make adjustments than anything else. I like Porter a lot, but I'm not sure how long he keeps the title in such a deep division.
Lara is a nightmare for anyone, and he clearly won the fight, but I didn't think he was nearly as dominant as everyone else seemed to. I thought most rounds were close and that neither guy was landing many clean shots. Trout is still one of the best in the division, but when you fight Canelo and Lara back-to-back you take your chances. Supposedly Canelo might fight Lara, but that's hard for me to imagine. If Canelo can win that fight, I take my hat off to him.
Dirrell got robbed imo. Especially with the knockdown, he clearly won the fight. Bika is so fuckin dirty. Dirrell deserves a rematch. He should be champ already. Bika won't hold that title long, rematch or no.
Right there with you on Rigondeaux. I love watching him fight. Barring just getting caught with something huge, he's not losing. He'd wreck Lomanchenko. I don't think it's a certainty that he even beats Salido.
They had to rush Tapia to the hospital after the fight. Hopefully he makes a fast recovery. Corner men have got to do a better job of stopping these fights. Tapia was slumped in the corner, head down, eyes shut. He should have been saved.
Man, just imagine if Paulie could punch. He'll be competitive with most guys at 147.
I thought Lara won the fight clearly. Trout just wasn't landing much, and very little of what he was landing, was landing cleanly. I thought Lara looked much faster, much more accurate, and his foot placement was incredible. He knew exactly how to fight as a southpaw, against a southpaw.
Happy for Porter. I had a 9 fight parlay that went back through last month, that depended solely on Alexander beating Porter. Paid 27/1. I was counting my money. Ugh. Kind of mad at myself for missing that opportunity. I should have dug into it more. Porter was the bigger man, stronger, and I completely didn't think about the fact that he is capable of roughing Alexander up the way Bradley did. All the signs were there, I just missed it.
I didn't think Dirrell was robbed. He might have edged the fight, though. With the KD and the point deduction, hard to score it for Bika. Bika didn't sound like he was in any hurry to give a rematch. He's a dirty, dirty fighter. He's tough as shit, though.
Broner decision +268. I know Maidana has a style tailored to make Broner look good, but Maidana is tough as nails. He won't be easy to finish. This is gonna be the hardest the loud mouth has ever been hit, and he came in light at 144.5, so he probably plans to move a lot. I'll start betting on Broner to KO welterweights, when Broner starts to KO welterweights.
Trying a big long shot. Tamas Kovacs +1100. Shumenov from a layoff, and I don't think he's good to begin with.
Ouazghari/Mitchell under 9.5 +165
Others..
Thurman should beat Soto Karass the hell up. Good style match up for him.
Santa Cruz could have some problems early on with Seda, but Seda is moving up in weight and doesn't have much of a chance. He might make it the distance, though. At +330, might be worth a shot.
I think Broner will look good and dominate, don't know about the knockout.
Thurman fucks up Soto Karass to set up a big fight, maybe with Broner next year.
Santa Cruz is one of my favorite boxers, and he's fixin to show you why.
I'm also gonna take the Kovac upset over Shumenov, because I like fighters with meaningless undefeated records (they're perfect!) and, like JMM, I don't think all that highly of Shumenov, partly because he never fights. Dan Rafael said on his chat yesterday that if Shumenov wins he's Bernard Hopkins' most likely next opponent.
Broner in trouble early and looks puzzled. He never is a quick starter and Maidana has exploited him for it but no way can he keep up this pace.
Can't believe Broner doesn't tuck his chin on his shoulder roll. Especially against a guy that hits like Maidana. He rolls OK, but he leaves his chin open.
This is turning into a really good fight. Be shocked if there isn't a KO.
LOL. Maidana loses a point. Broner should have lost 2 by now. Holding and forearms.
What a gift that headbutt was. What an acting job. He was done in that round if that doesn't happen.
I won't watch boxing again if Broner is handed this fight by decision from the judges unless he does something special in the last three rounds.
Bets be damned. Broner needs to lose this fight. Then we'll see what he's really made of.
This is awesome! Please God don't let this go to a decision.
I want to hear a Broner post fight interview.
LOL @ Maidana revenge humping Broner.
This fights not even over and I can't wait to find it online later tonight or tomorrow to watch again.