Haye haters




 
It appears as if Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye are finally going to meet on Saturday night, although I still won't believe its happening until the referee is giving them instructions in the centre of the ring. There are 48 hours to go, plenty of time for something to go wrong

There are a flood of previews, predictions & opinions out there already so I apologise for adding to the clutter; while its nice to see boxing getting so much mainstream attention, the downside to a big fight like this are the number of "experts" who appear from nowhere to offer their views. Obviously everyone is entitled to express an opinion but it might hold a tad more weight if you'd actually seen a boxing match since Frank Bruno retired...

Having had a quick look at opinions out there, I must admit I was surprised how many peopele are anti Haye; while the anonymity of the internet & Twitter will always lead to a number of jealous trolls trying to be controversial from the safety of their bedrooms, there does appear to be a large number of regular people who have been turned off by his behaviour. The common complaints are that he is arrogant & needs to be taught a lesson, that his attempts to market the fight are distasteful (see above)

The excellent Sky promo show "Behind the Ropes" probably didn't help; Wladimir came out of it far better, he appeared charming, polite & intelligent, while his opponent often looked childish & petty. However I think a lot of the criticism is missing the point; Haye understands how boxing works & how to sell fights. In order for it to appeal to a mass audience these days it has to be sold off the characters involved in the fight. As wrestling promoters have known for over a hundred years, there has to be a bad guy, someone for the crowd to boo & to hate, and this is the role that Haye has taken on. It doesn't matter if there are 50,000 people at the arena screaming for his blood on Saturday or millions watching hoping to see him knocked out, the important fact is they are there & they are watching.

Hayes' behaviour, going back to his challenge to a bemused Klitschko in London 3 years ago (watch) & the infamous severed heads t-shirt, have sold the fight;  a meeting between Klitschko & a relatively unknown former cruiserweight would not have generated anywhere near this level of excitement & attention. Proof of that is shown by the fact the fight will be screened on HBO in the US, who have refused to show fights involving the Klitschko brothers for years

As to the point about Haye being arrogant - good. If he didn't have such supreme self belief what hope would he stand against a man who has knocked out 49 previous opponents? He could have just shuffled into the ring resembling a man on the way to the scaffold, as so many of the Ukrainians recent opponents have done & would have lost the fight before a punch was thrown. The opinion of others is irrelevant, what matters is how a boxer copes with his own doubts or insecurity & if to overcome this they need to put up a front of complete confidence then so be it

Whether all the belief in the world will actually be enough to beat Klitschko.... we'll see on Saturday (fingers crossed)

Huddersfield date for Sykes

Gary Sykes, the British Super Featherweight champion, gets a run out at the Huddersfield Leisure Centre on July 23rd. The opponent is Kenya's Geoffrey Munika & the fight is an opportunity for Sykes to have a tune up before a projected October meeting with Gary Buckland, the only opponent to have beaten the Dewsbury champion.

The nature of the defeat, a heavy 1st round knock out in the Prizefighter competition, lends spice to the potential encounter which would have been lacking otherwise; Buckland is a solid if unspectacular pro and although he has looked more of a threat since dropping down from lightweight, a meeting between the pair a year ago would of looked a fairly straight forward task for Sykes. Now there are questions about his chin & how he will cope against the man who shattered his unbeaten run

First Sykes needs to take care of Munika on the non televised bill, which also includes four other Huddersfield fighters; unbeaten Tyrone Nurse & Jason McCalmon, Alistair Warren and Jason Thompson.

Tickets are available; 07917 881114

Gary Sykes on Facebook

Cologne controversy

"Never make predictions, especially about the future" (Casey Stengel)


So much for my first attempt at a predicition; still at least I picked the correct winner although only just, as Felix Sturm retained his WBA Middleweight title on a controversial split decision over Matthew Macklin


It's hard not to have symapathy for Macklin, he put in an incredible effort, but I had Sturm shading it. As predicted Macklin started very quickly & over the opening two rounds threatened to overwhelm Sturm as the champion seemed taken aback at the ferocity of the attack, his ribcage glowing red as Macklin had notable success with hooks to the body. Sturm seemed unable to keep his challenger off & create the distance needed to utilise his boxing skill, but he gradually began to get through with a few eye catching shots.


While the beginning of the fight undeniably belonged to Macklin, it's the middle & later rounds that are far more contentious. There were doubts about Macklin's stamina but he had obviously put in a huge effort in training as he continued to fire away with both hands up to the end; however his accuracy began to slip & the majority of the blows were being caught on hands & arms. Sturm was far more economical in his work, probably more than he wanted to be as Macklin's work rate made it hard to get his own punches off, but what he did throw was landing & was scoring.


Scoring the majority of the later rounds is difficult as it comes down to what you're looking for; the aggression & determination of Macklin or Sturm's accuracy & skill. The challenger & his team were understandably furious with the decision, there was plenty of support from Macklins' colleagues & friends within British boxing & even the German commentary gave the win to the Birmingham man. Personally I still think Sturm did just about enough to shade it; Macklin threw far more shots but the majority of them were being blocked, especially from the middle rounds onwards. The cleaner work was coming from the champion, his defense was better and I think to win a world title you need a bit more subtlety & skill than Macklin displayed.


The debate over the result is a shame though as it overshadows the fact that it was an excellent fight. Credit due to the referee too for letting them get on with it & not interrupting constantly; a number of the high profile US referees could learn from him. 

Predictions

The biggest fight taking place this weekend, at least from a British perspective, is in Cologne on Saturday night as Matthew Macklin travels to challenge WBA Middleweight champion Felix Sturm. I know I'm setting myself up for a fall but thought I'd go for a prediction

As with Ryan Rhodes challenge last weekend, Macklin goes in as the underdog & the away fighter. There are differences though as Sturm, whilst a respected champion, doesn't have the superstar aura that Alvarez exudes & although it has historically been difficult for the away fighter to get a decision on German soil the crowd is unlikely to approach the fervour & hostility of Mexico

Sturm has been champion for over four years & has defended successfully against a decent level of opposition without really meeting a marquee name. He's still best known for his loss to Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas back in 2004, when he lost an extremely debatable decision & hasn't appeared too willing to fight outside his home country since. Whilst not a huge puncher, he's a tidy fighter, has a strong jab & high work rate, and has been in with a far better calibre of fighter than Macklin.

In British boxing circles there are a number of judges tipping Macklin but I'm not as convinced; I've never been completely sold on him as a fighter. I don't think the flitting from trainer to trainer throughout his career has helped, and at 29 he really should have been in with bigger names more often. Before Saturday his highest profile fight remains his 2006 war with Jamie Moore down at light middle where he was knocked out in the 10th round.

In fairness, Macklin is unbeaten since, his run includes impressive early blow outs of Wayne Elcock & Amin Asikainen (even if there was something of a shopworn look to both of them) and he can't be blamed for the big domestic fight against London rival Darren Barker falling through twice last year. Macklin admits he's struggled to motivate himself in the past when facing lesser fighters, which might explain his lacklustre display last time out against Ruben Varon, and that he raises his standard against the big names. He'll have to on Saturday; Macklin is the bigger puncher & could get through early on but I think Sturm has too much experience of the big occasions & he'll out work his opponent.

Sturm by 9th round stoppage

The War

April 15^th 1985

The War

‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler v Thomas ‘Hitman’ Hearns

 

Caesars Palace, Las Vegas

"When a man goes into the ring, he's going to war." Marvin Hagler

This incredible fight was the earliest sporting memory I have; how much of it has been coloured by rewatching the worn out VHS tape over the years I can’t tell, but I distinctly remember Dad letting me stay up late to watch it & eating Easter eggs. Having checked, this is slightly confusing as Easter was the week before so I can only guess there must have been a good haul that year & they lasted several weeks….

Also wondering why the fight was on a Monday night. Seems a strange choice but the demand to see the fight was so huge it could have been put on at 6am on a Tuesday morning & millions would still have been tuning in

Hagler vs Hearns was a genuine 50/50 fight; it was for the undisputed World Middleweight title (oh the happy days before alphabet titles,  interim champions, champion in emeritus, “Super” champions, Diamond belts….) Hagler had been champion since 1980, reaching the top after a hard struggle; no golden boy treatment, he learnt the trade the hard way, came back from early career defeats & had to win the title on foreign soil; in London against Alan Minter in a cauldron of racial hatred, leading to shameful scenes afterwards. Hearns, already a two weight world champion & the Ring Magazine’s fighter of 1984, was moving up to middleweight for the first time. He had recently destroyed fellow legend Roberto Duran who had pushed Hagler close for the full 15 rounds in their meeting

  

Never has a fight lived up to its marketing more accurately; the War. Hagler tended to be a slow starter, warming into contests before breaking opponents down late on, but on this occasion, perhaps to confuse Hearns or due to the occasion, he launched a full assault from the opening bell. In the Hitman he found an opponent more than willing to engage & the first round has gone down in history as arguably the greatest round of all time. There was no feeling out process, no caution, they just went straight for full power shots; both were hurt, Hearns broke his hand, but there was no pause in the action. Even watching it today & knowing the outcome, it remains breathtaking

Watch here

The second round saw Hearns try to adapt his game plan due to his injury & turn to boxing rather than fighting but it was too late to change the tone of the fight, they were both in too deep. The third saw a cut open up on the forehead of Hagler  & the blood flooding down his face led to a break as the doctor was called to inspect the wound – it was allowed to continue but was already impacting on his vision & with the likelihood of the fight being called off Hagler went for the finish; with more than a passing resemblance to a lion stalking its prey he drove Hearns onto the ropes, a right hook caused the Hitman’s legs to betray him & he fell to the canvas. Bravely Tommy beat the count but was obviously in no condition to continue and referee Richard Steele ended the contest.  

It’s easy to see why it had such a strong impact on a young mind; it was all down to one man, ‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler. As I’ve grown older I’ve learnt to appreciate Hearns for the incredible fighter he was, the Hitman is one of the all time greats & was technically a far superior boxer than Hagler; but to a six year old it was all about Hagler. Just the way he appeared was enough; gleaming bald head & black goatee, muscles bulging all over his compact frame, the blood streaming down his face, a ferocious look of hate & menace etched onto his features…he was terrifying and simply undeniably cool.

The first sporting event I remember and 26 years later, still the greatest

Rhodes to ruin

Sadly despite the hope, goodwill & even optimism that were generated beforehand, Ryan Rhodes was unsuccessful in his bid for Saul Alvarez's WBC Light Middleweight crown.

Rhodes was down in the 4th round but survived until the mid point of the final round when the referee's intervention coincided with the towel coming in from the Sheffield fighters’ corner. While it would have been nice to see Rhodes last the full distance, the stoppage had no impact on the result with Alvarez miles ahead on the cards.

There was refreshing honesty from Ryan afterwards  "Alvarez is a very good fighter. It's that simple, no excuses." The general consensus before the fight was that although it was going to be difficult to get a result, Rhodes' speed & power would at least test the 20 year old but that wasn't how the fight unfolded. For a start Alvarez looked huge at the weight, but the biggest surprise was his speed; he was simply too fast, never giving Rhodes a chance to counter. Extremely accurate too, I can't remember ever seeing Rhodes caught so cleanly & so often.

I had doubts about whether Alvarez was worthy of all the hype surrounding him that has him earmarked as a future Mexican legend, but he answered a lot of questions. It was an incredibly mature performance, he was patient, knew when to launch attacks, moved & feinted nicely, utilised the old pro trick of working harder towards the end of the round to catch the judges eye...if he can do all this at 20 what will he be like when he's fully developed? The comments about lack of experience that the SKY commentary frequently made are misleading though, despite his age he's a veteran of 37 fights

Unclear where Rhodes goes next - he is still talented enough to dominate most fighters in Europe but does he have the desire top go over old ground at the age of 34, when another world title shot seems unlikely? When so much of his ring strategy is based on speed & reflexes, his confidence must have taken a knock to have met a fighter who was so much quicker & who negated all Ryan's strengths.