To a Great Group of Individuals, All The Best During 2016!

All the best to you and yours in the New Year. May 2016 be kind.

To a Great Group of Individuals, All The Best During 2016!

WOW! I'm going to miss him

One of my dearest icons lost his battle with cancer.

My deepest condolences to all the love ones of Howard Davis Jr.

HDJ, I will see you at the crossroad. Unti then.... Holla!

WOW! I'm going to miss him

Mauricio" El Maestro" Herrera vs Ruslan" Siberian Rocky' Provodnikov the rematch

We are looking for for the re-match MH vs Provodikov, just waiting on the final aproval from HBO, to be televised sometime in March or early April. The two fighters are willing, Banner promotion and Gomez of golden boy are all in, just waiting on Peter Nelson the HBO. Hopefully the fight gets penciled in within the next few weeks. The first fight was phone boot war, both fighters taking lots punishment. Looking forward to start the first part of 2016 Boxing with a bang!

Mauricio" El Maestro" Herrera vs Ruslan" Siberian Rocky' Provodnikov the rematch

A Comeback for Ike Ibeabuchi?

Several web sites are reporting that Ike Ibeabuchi is plotting a comeback with an eye toward appearing on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao's next fight in April.

Ibeabuchi was released from prison in February of 2014. His story was nicely covered by Michael Woods in a piece that was posted here on TSS on April 14, 2014: "Whatever Happened to Ike Ibeabuchi?"

Ibeabuchi's last fight was March 20, 1999 when he dismissed Chris Byrd in five rounds. His signature win was a quick blastout of David Tua.

George Foreman will always be the standard-bearer when one talks about comebacks. But Foreman was 38 when he returned to the ring after a 10-year absence. Ibeabuchi turns 43 on Feb. 2 and will have been inactive for 17 years, assuming that reports of a comeback are true.

It's worth noting that Ibeabuchi is 14 months younger than Shannon Briggs who last fought in September, scoring a second round knockout over a lightly regarded opponent, Briggs' eighth straight win.

How good was Ibeabuchi? Frequent contributor "oubobcat" wrote that Ibeabuchi had the tools to be a dominant heavyweight champion. I concur.

A Comeback for Ike Ibeabuchi?

Ortiz Scores Most Impressive Stoppage Among Tomorrow's Heavyweights

In professional boxing, it's not about how many you beat or knock out - it's all about whom did you defeat or knockout? With the universally acknowledged heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko, losing his title to Tyson Fury last month the division now appears to be wide open. In Klitschko's last bout before fighting Fury, he was pushed to go the 12-round distance by Philidelphian Bryant Jennings 19-2 (10), a fighter who only fought 17 times as an amateur before turning pro. No, Jennings didn't deserve the decision he lost, but he was in the fight and absorbed Wladimir's Sunday punch repeatedly during the bout and never really flinched. And two bouts before fighting Klitschko, Jennings stopped undefeated Artur Szpilka in the 10th and final round of their bout. Incidentally, Szpilka will meet WBC heavyweight title holder Deontay Wilder 35-0 (34) this coming January 16th.

Jennings is a fighter with limited experience who was more than willing to meet other up and coming heavyweights on way up the ranks, and until this past weekend he acquitted himself well. For first time in his career Jennings lost via TKO at 2:41 of the seventh round. The fighter who recorded the first stoppage defeat over Jennings is WBA interim title holder Luis "The Real King Kong" Ortiz 24-0 (21). And based on how he looked against Jennings, he very well may be the most dangerous heavyweight in boxing because he can box and punch out of a southpaw stance. In addition to that Ortiz is very strong and knows how to apply his strength. Oh, and as he demonstrated against Jennings, he can fight both inside and outside.

During the first round of the fight it didn't take long for Jennings to realize that Ortiz's power was too much for him if he stayed outside and was caught at the end of his punches. In the second round Jennings smartly began pushing the action and was effective once he gathered that he was safer inside smothering the massive Cuban's shots. However, that took a lot out of him and he was forced to regroup from outside searching for another answer, but in the process he was getting repeatedly hurt. In the fourth round Jennings again found his way on the inside and seemed to once again stem the tide out the bout. But starting in the fifth round Ortiz began moving on his toes and was starting to pot-shot Jennings who was now coming in more slowly. By the sixth round Jennings made a fundamental mistake, most likely because he was wearing down....and the mistake was being stationary in front of Ortiz on the inside without letting his hands go. This cleared the path for Ortiz's powerful left and right uppercuts on the point of the chin of the crouching Jennings. The bout ended when Ortiz dropped Jennings with a perfect uppercut to the chin. Jennings beat the count but the bout was halted when Ortiz unloaded on an unsteady Jennings when the fight resumed.

Luis Ortiz scored a big win this past Saturday night. Bryant Jennings is a 6'3" 229 pound strong heavyweight who has been getting better with each fight. He pushed Wladimir Klitschko like not many other challengers could at a time when Wladimir was thought to be the alpha fighter in the division. Yet the 6'4" 239 pound Ortiz overwhelmed him with his strength, punch placement and astute boxing aptitude. This comes with having fought over three hundred times as an amateur in the Cuban boxing program. After the fight even Jennings admitted that Ortiz's pedigree was too much for him to overcome.

As of this writing the up and coming heavyweights getting the most attention are American Deontay Wilder and the UK's Anthony Joshua 15-0 (15) and now Ortiz. The difference is, Wilder has one meaningful win on his resume and that's Bermane Stiverne whom he defeated via unanimous decision. As for Anthony Joshua, he has yet to beat any fighter of note to this point. Whereas Ortiz conclusively stopped a younger heavyweight by today's standards that was coming off of his best showing. It wasn't just the stoppage that was impressive, it was his power and versatility exhibited along the way.

Based on his showing versus Bryant Jennings, Luis Ortiz looks like the most dangerous threat to newly crowned champ Tyson Fury 25-0 (18). The only problem with Ortiz is that he's 36 years old and seems to be a little lazy. His work-rate isn't upper-tier but his ability is. If the guy ever shows that he's willing to really work, he'd be a real terror. I expect Wilder and Joshua to look the other way regarding Ortiz, at least in the immediate future, which looks like a wise decision from a boxing business perspective. Ortiz exhibited outstanding technical boxing basics and fundamentals. He set up the finishing uppercut on Jennings beautifully.

Yes, a heavyweight who can box and punch is a virtual God send for fans who have been craving some action packed fights in the division for years. Hopefully, the clock won't expire on the 36 year old Cuban talent before he gets a shot at today's upper-tier heavyweight newcomers getting the Lion's share of attention.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

Ortiz Scores Most Impressive Stoppage Among Tomorrow's Heavyweights

what real heavyweights look like

If you missed Jennings vs Otiz, you missed a real heavyweight fight. Jennings looked fearful going in, Ortiz looked right at home leaping the top rope and fanning the air with his combos during the introduction.
Jenning should not have made it out the first round, he turned his back and tried to run from the enslaught but the rope prevented his exit, yet once his adrenalin got flowing he put up a game effort and fought back like a man.

Ortiz remained calm and patient like the skilled, decorated veteran he is,.... not willing to settle for a points win.

I said Ortiz was going starch Jennings, even Fury said publically before their fight that he'd never get into the ring with Ortiz. (smart man)
Now Ortiz has his sights set on Wilder, his PED comments have rubbed the Cuban the wrong way. But in the fight game, fighting words are appropriate. ....I bet he won't except a match with Ortiz either, however there really isnt anywhere to hide. The heavyweights just got fun again.

what real heavyweights look like

Marcos Maidana looking very "Gangam Style"

maidana.jpg

I dont think we are going to see Marcos Maidana boxing anytime soon. This is him at the WBA Convention in Panama this past week.

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Marcos Maidana looking very "Gangam Style"

Joshua V Whyte

Did anyone watch Joshua V Whyte yesterday? Was a great fight, was on the edge of my seat from the first round.

It looked like it was going to be routine for AJ when Whyte almost didn't make it out of the first round, but then Whyte landed a big left hook in the second round and was extremely close to KOing Joshua, Joshua looked like Bambi on ice. At the time I thought that was it & Joshua was done for.

I think Joshua tries to fight too short, you can see he clearly idolizes Mike Tyson, so tries to fight like him (for example; when he's in close he tries to throw short hooks & put his whole body into them as Tyson did). Only difference is Tyson is 5'11 and Joshua 6'7.

Eddie Hearn really needs to step up the competition now, that's the first real punch AJ has taken in a bout since he turned pro.

What's everyone else's take on the fight? I bet Haye was salivating at ringside.

Joshua V Whyte

Roy Jones Jr knocked the F out in Russia

Roy got dropped and then knocked out cold to where he was out and timbered to the mat like a tree cut down at the base.

What I dont get about Roy is that he has such passion and hunger to remain in the sport, yet he is 25 lbs overweight.

If he is that diligent about competing then why is he not in fighting shape?

Roy Jones Jr knocked the F out in Russia

Forum Change - Need Feedback

Hey Forum faithful. I wanted to direct your attention to the "Regis Prograis, Abel Ramos ShoBox Workout Quotes" article.

You may notice that the text for this article now comes with FORMATTING. Before, the feed used to dump the text with limited attention, and it was hard to read. My aim was to make the piece more legible here in the FORUM.

Please check the article and let me know what you think. I'm interested if there are any browsers or mobile devices where the stuff may not be totally clean yet. But it is a big improvement, I think.

This should be noticed on all articles going forward, so if it breaks down and the text returns all garbled, let me know ASAP!

Forum Change - Need Feedback

Anyone from Texas? Free Tix for San Antonio Area Dec 12

Hy folks, I have a chance at a free ticket giveaway to help promote this weekend's really big boxing card at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Anyone here in the area who would be serious about going?

This is he card with Omar Figueroa Jr facing Antonio DeMarco and the live event has 16 fights scheduled in all.

Anyone from Texas? Free Tix for San Antonio Area Dec 12

Its Time To Start The Debate - Fighter of the Year 2015?

OK perhaps this is out there already, but I think it is time to start the conversation. For at least the second year in a row, there does not seem to be a clear cut choice.

I think a case can be made for Deontay Wilder. He went (3-0) and became a World Champion, starting a hoped for rejuvenation of the Heavyweight scene. Everyone else on this list will probably only have 2 fights in 2015, I feel as if the additional ring time and exposure helped Wilder have a very strong year.

Its Time To Start The Debate - Fighter of the Year 2015?