Redemption No.2 for Carl Froch?

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97

Last night at the O2 Arena in London, England, Carl Froch continued his impressive and seemingly unstoppable run of form with a unanimous decision victory over friend and old foe Mikkel Kessler to avenge the first loss that was put on his record back in 2010.

It was a clear victory for the 35-year old, he looked better than ever, and now people are calling for him to get another shot at super-middleweight king Andre Ward, the only other man to defeat him. There are some people who believe this fight is still pointless, because no matter how much Froch has improved, Ward is basically unbeatable and has already proven it. But the question to ask those people is; who else is there to challenge 'S.O.G' at 168lb?

The Fans Have Voted: Broner and Ward, the future P4P kings?

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

The Mayweather-Pacquiao era is slowly coming to an end. There was a time when these two men were dominating the pound-for-pound debates. It was debatable between these two, but nobody else even came close. But now these two superstars are aging and clearly slowing down, the pound-for-pound No.1 spot will soon be left wide open for the young, hungry up and coming superstars making their way through the rankings right now.

It's impossible to predict the future, especially in boxing, but we wanted to find out who the fans believe is the "most likely" to be in the P4P No.1 spot in a few years time. So we asked the following question to our Twitter followers (@BoxingOpinions1): Who will be the pound-for-pound king in 5 years time?

There were tons of names mentioned, way more than I actually expected, but two names dominated the discussion: WBC super-bantamweight super-middleweight champion and most people's P4P No.2 Andre Ward, and flamboyant and controversial highly-rated WBC lightweight world champ Adrien 'The Problem' Broner. Let's take a look at why most boxing fans/experts believe it will be these two men battling it out for the No.1 spot in the future.

Bika earns WBC mandatory spot with win over Sjekloca!

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Ring veteran Sakio Bika reaffirmed himself as a contender in the super-middleweight division last night with a unanimous decision victory over undefeated Russian Nikola Sjekloca on the undercard of Adrien Broner Vs Gavin Rees at the Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City.

The 33-year old entered as the favourite but many people believed that the No.1 ranked Sjekloca would be a tough test for him. However, it proved a relatively easy night for the iron-chinned "Scorpion." Bika was always going to be tougher and stronger but he also managed to out-box his younger opponent for the majority of the fight. His jab was affective and it was out-shining the low work rate of Sjekloca.

All three judges were in agreement giving the fight to Bika by scores of 119-109, 118-112 & 120-108. There were a few good spurts from Sjekloca and he proved that he's a tough guy, but there was no doubt that Bika had won this fight. 

Who is the greatest of this era barring the 'Top 2'?

Nowadays when you ask the question "Who is the greatest boxer of this era?," you only really get two answers... Floyd 'Money' Mayweather and Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao'. For so long these have been the boxers that have been dominating most of the media coverage, debates and most importantly the money in the sport. What I want to know is.. Who would take the top spot if these two guys were around?

Now, this isn't just about who would become pound-for-pound No.1, its also about who would be considered the greatest. And in my opinion to be the greatest you have to be more than just technically skilled. You have to have something special about you. The ability to impact people, change their lives and most importantly let the world know who you are and make people want to watch you fight.

As always when I ask a question like this I want to know what the boxing public think or in Twitter terms the '#BoxingHeads'. So I posted the debate on Twitter and just expected replies regarding mostly the same couple of fighters. But it didn't turn out like that. There was at least twenty to twenty five different boxers mentioned and only a few were mentioned more than once.

Another thing that shocked me was that even up and coming prospects were getting mentioned. Boxers such as Adrien Broner, Kell Brook and even Chris Eubank Jr who has had no more that six fights. Now why I don't agree that these fighters should be considered great already, I took the thought into consideration and realised that these fighters are destined for greatness they're just not there yet.

Of course there were the obvious ones such as Miguel Cotto, Andre Ward and Juan Manuel Marquez (surprisingly nobody actually said the Klitschko's), and yes, these fighters are all great.. But who is the greatest? There was no clear verdict which made me realise one thing:

There is no real cemented definition for great. Greatness means something different to every single person in the world. Everyone has there own perception on who is great, especially in boxing. A sport where everything is debatable.

If I had to chose one fighter from this era to call 'the greatest' it would without a doubt be Floyd Mayweather. But seeing as he is excluded from this argument there is only really one other man out there... Juan Manuel Marquez.

Even at his current age (39-years old) he is still up there as a serious pound-for-pound contender and I think he is the only other fighter out there that you can put in the same bracket as Floyd and Manny.
The one thing I love about the Mexican is that he never fails to provide excitement and entertainment which is why the fans love him so much. I don't think there is anyone out there that can say they're not a fan of Marquez. He's not the stereotypical Mexican that you see powering through taking shots on the chin, he out-boxes and most of the time out-classes his opponents with ease. The guy has been in so many wars over the years but hasn't slowed down at all, he still fights like a fresh mid-twenties boxing technician.

Yep that's it really.. I consider Juan Manuel Marquez as the greatest of fighter of this era (except for Mayweather & Pacquiao). I'm sure there's a lot of you out there that disagree but that's what boxing's all about... OPINIONS! And I suppose every boxer that steps between those ropes are great in their own way.

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Ward eyes Pavlik or a move up to 175lb...

Andre 'S.O.G' Ward.

You would think that after beating just about every guy who has been put in front of him and now being considered as the second best fighter on the planet, Andre Ward would be in a fantastic position right now. Well, unfortunately there's a slight problem... 'S.O.G' has just about wiped out the whole of the super-middleweight division, meaning there is now not really any testing fights out there for him.

When asked about this problem on the Boxing Lab Radio, this is what Ward said: "That's a good problem to have if I'm going to have any problems. I'm happy about that... I'm aware of what we've done up until this point and there are not a lot of options at 168. I think you have one or two guys that are the top but I've either already fought them or it's probably not realistic to make a fight. And you have young guys that are on their way up to contender status and those aren't really options either so I really don't know what's next."

However, there is still one fighter out there that Ward wouldn't mind facing.

"I mean you guys got like Kelly Pavlik out there," said Ward. "I know he's got one more shot left in him and he's mentioned my name and not disrespectfully. He's just saying that he wants another crack at a top guy so Kelly is definitely an option. He's got a name and he's still a tough fighter."

Ward still hasn't ruled out a move up in weight and is excited by the light-heavyweight division.

"And of course the 175 pound division which I'm excited about. I don't know if its going to be my next fight but I'm just excited about that next challenge and I think my body is going to be happy about having that extra weight on me as well. I think I'm going to be a lot stronger."

 

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Team Martinez: Fight Only Happens If Ward Moves Down...

"Middleweight King" Sergio Martinez.

Super-middleweight ruler Andre Ward.

Recently, there have been a lot of people calling for a fight between the world No.1 middleweight Sergio Martinez and the WBC super-middleweight world champion, who are considered as the two bets fighters on the planet other than Floyd Mayweather. However, it has now been revealed that the fight will only happen one way... And that's if Andre Ward moves down to 160lb.

Sergio Martinez's adviser, Sampson Lewkowicz, has revealed that his fighter will never fight at super-middleweight, and the only way a fight with Ward can happen is if Ward decides to drop down in weight.

"If Andre Ward moves down to 160 pounds, the fight will happen," said Lewkowicz. "Sergio Martinez would never turn down any challenge in the middleweight division.  However, Sergio will never move up to 168 pounds or fight Ward at a catch-weight. We are ready to fight anyone in the middleweight division or at 154 pounds, or Floyd Mayweather Jr or Manny Pacquiao at 152."

"Martinez is a blown-up 154 pounder, who chooses to fight in the middleweight division. He made weight for this fight last week. He will never fight at super-middleweight."

At the moment, I'm not sure whether to be happy or disappointed. The chances of a fight between Ward and Martinez have decreased slightly but at least they're actually talking about the fight. The fact that one of Martinez's team has talked about Ward publicly does show that they see him as an option.

However, there is one thing you still need to remember. Martinez faces Julio Cesar Chavez Jr on Saturday and he must get through him face. If Chavez wins on Saturday everything changes. It would then be likely that we would see Chavez move up to super-middleweight to fight Ward. Let's just hope Martinez hasn't made a big mistake and looked past Chavez.

 

By Jack Price (@PriceyJ97)

Andre Ward Vs Chad Dawson - Fight Preview & Prediction (PriceysBoxinThoughts)

Jack Price gives his thoughts on the highly anticipated bout between Andre Ward & Chad Dawson.

PriceysBoxinThoughts is a quickly-growing YouTube channel set up by young aspiring boxing pundit Jack Price. The whole channel is dedicated to discussing boxing so if you're a fan of the sport, please subscribe!

Bailey Vs Alexander set for September 8th!

Randall Bailey with his IBF title.

On September 8th, newly crowned IBF welterweight champ Randall Bailey will make the first defence of his title against American star Devon Alexander. The fight is not yet 100% confirmed but it is almost definite to happen.

Devon Alexander.

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer gave his thoughts on the fight: "We have agreed on the terms and it's going to be a terrific fight... You always have a good fight when it involves Randall Bailey. He's one veteran you can't turn your back on, and it's a great opportunity for Devon."

In my opinion, this is a very, very good fight between a man who is moving towards the end of his career and wants to give it all he's got before it's over (Bailey) and a man who is on his way up and wants to prove that he can make it all the way to the top.

However, there is a potentially very big problem. The fight goes directly head-to-head with a much bigger fight between Andre Ward and Chad Dawson. This is a bit of a surprise as there were available dates very close to the date that was chosen. I can't think of any reason why they would chose September 8th, other than that Golden Boy may believe that the Ward-Dawson fight will somehow help to promote the Bailey-Dawson fight even though they are in different channels.

The venue or location has not been set for this fight yet. The most likely place that has been talked about at the moment is St. Louis. This would make the most sense as Alexander is a big attraction there so the ticket sales would receive a huge boost if it did take place there.

It's very hard to predict a clear winner in this fight. Alexander is obviously has the more superior boxing skills  but with Bailey you always have that danger of a one-punch knock out. All you have to do is look at his last performance against Mike Jones on June 9th. Bailey was well behind on points when he pulled off a fantastic knock out victory in the 11th round.

I am really looking forward to this fight. I just hope that it isn't shown at exactly the same time as the fight between Dawson and Ward.

Kelly Pavlik, not impressed with Froch

Kelly Pavlik.

Former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik is looking to make his way back to the top of the sport and to do that he may one day have to face British fan favourite and current IBF super-middleweight champ Carl Froch on his journey.

Froch after his victory over Lucian Bute.

Froch looked fantastic against Lucian Bute in his most recent fight on May 26th but Pavlik has revealed that he thinks that the 'Cobra' is just not that impressive. He also claims that the Nottingham man is nowhere near the same level as fellow American super-middleweight Andre Ward.

In an interview with BoxingScene.com Pavlik said: "In most of his fights, if you go look at them, he gets in wars and he gets hit a lot. If you go back and watch, even the Taylor fight, he was getting beaten up the whole entire time in that fight.... Bad. If Taylor would have taken one more knee, and if he would have survived, he was that far ahead on the scorecards [that he would have won]. I think he's a rough, gritty guy and he has power, don't get me wrong, but I just don't see him as a top, top guy of the weight class. I don't think that he is at the level that Ward is.

Pavlik's next outing is on July 7th at the Home Depot Centre in Carson, California. He faces Will Rosinsky in a HBO co-feature event. It will be his fourth fight in a row at 168lb or heavier.

Ward praises Froch, Dirrell disses Bute...

Ward beats Froch back in December of last year.

Fellow super-middleweights Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell were not surprised with what they saw in the fight between Carl Froch and Lucian Bute on Saturday night (May 26th). The top names at 168lb did not think much of Bute and believed he was being over-hyped. And they were proved right.

It took Froch, who lost to Ward but beat Dirrell, just 5 rounds to stop Bute, who had previously fought most of his fights in his home town.

Prior to the fight, pound-for-pound contender Ward wrote - "I can envision Froch putting a lot of pressure on Bute, and physically and mentally breaking him down." This is exactly what happened so it just goes to show that the boxers do know their stuff.

After the fight, he wrote - "Bute can be broken. Well, what can you say? Carl fought the right fight by pressing Bute and answering him whenever Bute did land. It worked!"

Andre Dirrell lashed out at Bute for his poor performance and was harsh with with his words - "Bute is a bum. He can't even make it to the corner. Welcome to the real world Bute."

Ward Vs Dawson looking even more likely...

Andre Ward                                 Chad Dawson

According to reports, pound-for-pound contender Andre Ward has contacted the WBC and asked them to reinstate him as the full world champion instead of the "champion in recess." The reason for this is that he is looking to take part in a 'super-fight' with light-heavyweight world champion Chad Dawson.

This means that the fight is almost a definite for September 8th and it also means that it will be Dawson who moves down in weight as the fight will be for the WBC super-middleweight title. Dawson's trainer John Scully has said that he is not very happy about Dawson dropping to super-middleweight as he hasn't fought at that weight since 2006. But, 'Bad' Chad is obviously ignoring this advice as he has said on numerous occasions that he is willing to drop from 175lb to 168lb.

The WBC had ordered a vacant title fight between interim champ Nikola Sjekloca and super-middleweight contender Anthony Dirrell, but Dirrell has been involved in a motorcycle accident that has put him out of action for around six months. According to promoter Yvon Michel, the WBC is waiting to see how long Dirrell will be out for before they make a move.

No matter what happens with the titles, Ward Vs Dawson is almost a definite fight for September and it is looking very likely that it will happen at super-middleweight. With the WBC world title on the line, it would be a lot more interesting. But, either way, it is a good and interesting fight.

Andre Ward Vs Chad Dawson likely for September 8th...

Andre Ward                                               Chad Dawson

There have been reports that the promoters of super-middleweight No.1 Andre Ward and light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson are discussing a fight for September 8th, with Los Angeles and Atlantic City being possible hosts.

Both fighters are coming off great performances, with Ward dominating Carl Froch and Dawson out-pointing 46-year old ring legend Bernard Hopkins. The fight will be relatively easy to negotiate as both men want it to happen and they have both said that they do not mind moving up or down in weight.

Dawson called Ward out in an interview just after his fantastic performance against Hopkins. A week later he also said that he is willing to move down to 168lb (super-middleweight) so that Ward doesn't have any excuses if he loses.

Ward has been talking about moving up to light-heavyweight for a very long time as he has basically run out of challenges at his current weight, except for maybe Lucian Bute, but most people believe that even he is not good enough to beat pound-for-pound contender Ward.

It will not be the most exciting of fights as both men are crafty tacticians who rarely get dragged into toe-to-toe brawls and go all-out to hurt their opponent. However, it will still be a great fight as it's between two fighters that are pound-for-pound contenders in their prime. It will also give us an inkling as to whether Andre Ward has what it takes to compete at light-heavyweight.

Dawson willing to move down to fight Ward...

'Bad' Chad Dawson.

WBC light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson has revealed that he is tired of fighting older opponents and he wants to challenge some of the best fighters in the world. Starting with the No.1 super-middleweight and top pound-for-pound contender Andre Ward. Dawson has even said that he is willing to move down to 168 to make the fight happen.

No.1 Super-middleweight Andre Ward.

"I can make 168. 175 is where I'm at and I'm on top of the division. I can make 168 so any of the guys down there, any of the big names, I'm ready for it," said the 29-year old.

The 'old' opponents that Dawson is talking about are Bernard Hopkins, Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson who were all beaten by 'Bad' Chad. All of these fighters are way past their best so Dawson probably feels that he still hasn't properly proved himself. This is why he is looking to seek out new challenges at super-middlweight. However, he has said that he would stay at light-heavyweight if he gets the opportunity to fight the winner of Tavoris Cloud Vs Jean Pascal.

Pascal is the only person that has beaten Dawson in his 32-fight career. The fight was stopped because of a cut and had to go to the scorecards early. Pascal was the clear winner but 'Bad' Chad did have the Frenchman in trouble towards the end of the fight. The Cloud-Pascal fight takes place on August 11th which is a problem as Dawson has already said that he wants to return to the ring in September, so the fight that we will likely see is Dawson Vs Ward.

Personally, I think a clash with Ward would be a lot better for boxing fans and the two fighters as they will know if either of them can mix it up with the best of a different weight division. Ward will likely have a little too much for Dawson but it has the potential to be a great fight.

Andre Ward to be made 'Champ In Recess'

Andre Ward with WBC belt.

The WBC have announced that unbeaten super-middleweight world champion Andre Ward will be made their 'Champion In Recess' until he has recovered from his hand injury and is able to resume his career.

The belt will now be put on the line in a fight between Andre Ward's friend Andre Dirrell and unbeaten Serbian Nikola Sjekloca.

Andre Dirrell.

Many people were hoping of a fight between Dirrell and Ward but that is very unlikely to happen in the near future. Dirrell returned to the ring last December where he won by a 2nd round stoppage over Darryl Cunnigham. This was his first fight since he had to withdraw from Super Six tournament due to dizziness after his fight with Arthur Abraham.

Dirrell's opponent Sjekloca is not known by many people and is considered to be a massive underdog going into the fight. But, do not rule him out. The 33-year old is unbeaten in 24 contests and can be very tricky to handle.

If Dirrell is on form then it will likely be an easy night for the 28-year old. But, Hey! This is boxing... Anything can happen.

Andre Ward: The fight the fans want to see is me and Chavez Jr!

@THABOXINGVOICE