Fighter Of The Week - Sakio Bika

This week we have chosen Sakio Bika as our 

fighter of the week...

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97 - @BoxingOpinions1

The main event was crazy, it was exciting, it was the one we all wanted to watch, but the performance from the winner Adrien Broner wasn't really a show-stealing performance. In fact nobdoy on the show last night, except for maybe Malignaggi, put on a better performance than we were expecting. But one man for me that does deserve a lot of credit is Sakio Bika. After years of trying and four previous attempts, the 34-year old finally achieved his dream of becoming world champion.

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Abraham becomes two-weight world champ!



Abraham (centre) with the WBO super-middlweight title. 



'Amazing!' That is the only word I can use to sum up this fight. Maybe the intensity and the excitement of the event was just increased because it had been so long since any of us boxing fans had seen a world class televised fight. But anyway, you're not here to hear me ramble on about how excited I am that the boxing season has started again. You're here to read about what actually happened in the highly anticipated super-middleweight fight between Arthur Abraham and Robert Stieglitz.

I think the reason that this fight was as good as it was, is because both men wanted it so bad. It was a crossroads fight and both of them had something to prove. I think it's fair to say that going into this fight we were thinking that if Abraham didn't win then his career as a world-class fighter was over. On the other hand, we all also knew that Stieglitz was desperate to be victorious because he had to prove that he belonged with the top-level fighters at super-middleweight.

It was clear from the beginning that Abraham was not fighting with the same game-plan that he usually does. For anyone who has seen the German-based Armenian fight before, you will know that he usually just lasts through the first half of the fight without really throwing any punches and then from around the 6th or 7th round onwards he tries to wear his opponent down until they give up. But this time things were different. The 32-year old came out strong and fast and clearly won the first round. This was a sign that he knew that this was potentially his last chance at proving he was a force to be reckoned with at super-middleweight. Howeveer, Stieglitz was not just going to lay down and let Abraham walk away with the opportunity. The German-based Russian came back strong and threw more punches in the next few rounds than Abraham probably did in the whole fight. He even hurt the usually iron-jawed Abraham on occasions. When it got to the eighth round, I had it scored even and there were just no clues as to who was going to win. Abraham had just won the last round but he was looking very tired, whereas Stieglitz had blood pouring from his right eye and a bruise above his left but was still looking fresh when he threw his punches. The next four rounds were once again very close, except for the last round which Stieglitz clearly won.

At the end of the fight I had it scored 115-114 to Abraham but I could have easily had it the other way round. The judges scorecards were 116-112, 116-112 & 115-113, all in favour of Abraham. There was no arguments about the winner, I just think the scorecards were slightly wide.

One thing I did notice on Twitter after the fight is how many people were now fans of Stieglitz even though he lost th fight. A lot of people had not really seen much of him before and even though he lost, he still showed a lot of heart and courage and also proved that he can compete with some top-class fighters at the weight.

Abraham is now in the best position he has been in since moving up to super-middleweight. He is now a two-weight world champion and back up there with the top-level fighters. Whilst I don't think there's much chance of him beating the likes of Andre Ward and Carl Froch, there's still a lot big fights out there for him.

Does Olympic Gold = World Champion?

By Gary Alder (@garyalder321).

With Team GB well within the medal hunt in the boxing not only for the men but now the women as well, I take a look at some of the greats throughout history and does this mean our possible gold medallists have a bright future?

One thing is for sure, it will certainly attract the attention of some keen promoters. If we look as recent as the Beijing games for Great Britain, we see the rise of stars such as David Price, a heavyweight fighter already being lined up for a potential title fight with Wladmir Klitschko. Another name of note is James Degale, a gold medallist in Beijing remaining undefeated until that fateful night with George Groves, a rivalry which I’m sure will re-new itself at world title level. Then we have the unfortunate likes of Bronze medallist Tony Jeffries, plagued by injuries, cuts and poor performances against low opposition. He has always been that draw in Sunderland but like other fighters struggle to find the TV and arena audiences outside home town fights. Even the likes of David Price are resided to the fact that his Liverpool fan base is what is going to keep money going into his pocket, whilst creating an exciting atmosphere for himself and the viewing public.


History shows us every weight division has a special name to list:
Sugar Ray Leonard – Light Welterweight
Cassius Clay – Light Heavyweight
Michael Spinks – Middleweight
Joe Frazier – Heavyweight
Oscar De La Hoya - Bantamweight
George Foreman – Heavyweight
Lennox Lewis – Super Heavyweight
Wladmir Klitschko – Super Heavyweight

All these great names went on to transcend the sport.

So does the Olympics prepare you for life after amateur boxing? I think it definitely provides the goal and determination to achieve that gold medal, which takes a similar kind of drive to achieve that world title. It’s no coincidence that so many medallists go on to achieve a world title, the likes of Floyd Mayweather and Amir Khan who did not get that all illusive gold medal still go on to become unified world champions.


However it cannot prepare you for the lows of professional boxing. It is so rare to see an amateur fight dominated in the way a professional bout is, eventually ending with the career ruining knock out.

The gold medal is a step to stardom, the likes of which Andre Ward has recently felt, a tournament like the super six is built for an athlete such as Ward to compete against the best. Of course Andre has superior skills but that experience of going all the way to that gold medal match can only give you confidence.


Britain has much more of a tendency to celebrate our gold medallists and throw them into the fire and if they don’t come up smelling of roses, we lose patience. One name being Audley Harrison. Audley was one of our biggest successes post Olympics. He went on a few years undefeated but as soon as the real challenges came his way he folded. All culminating in that poor show against David Haye, and now the calls are for him to retire.

A gold medal can get you noticed, it can give a boxer that platform. That connection to the wider audience who watched the games in some foreign land. This time it is different. The games are in London. If a boxer can shine on this stage, they are setting their careers up for a nice pay day when they turn professional. Does this mean they will be world champion within 6 years? No it certainly doesn’t, but if they win the gold, keep that same drive and ambition that won them the gold, there is certainly no reason why they can’t become world champions (and millionaires in the process).

One thing is for sure though, With our recent history of turning medals into titles, Britain expects……

Ogogo!

That's right, I don't even need a title. I just need that one word; 'Ogogo!'







If you haven't heard already; Team GB's Olympic hopeful Anthony Ogogo put on the performance of his life in the middleweight round of 16 and upset the reigning world champion Ievgen Khytrov. 

Going into the fight, Ogogo was expected to put up a good fight but just not have enough skill or strength to compete with the Ukrainian knockout machine Ievgen Khytrov who was stood in front of him. However, right from the off Ogogo came out fast and through a lot of accurate combinations. We all knew that this would be his key to victory if there was an upset on the cards but we didn't expect it to be as effective as it was. 

Ogogo won the first round pretty comfortably and the judges gave a score of 5-3. But in the second round Khytrov came on very strong and gave Ogogo two eight counts. However, one of them was for no apparent reason. The first one was definitely legitimate but when you watch the second one in slow motion the referee jumps in when the punches clearly land on Ogogo's gloves. Despite all of this, the Brit just did enough to make it a close round. He lost the round 7-6 which meant he was still one point up (11-10).  

Ogogo now had two options. No.1: Run away for the whole round and try to defend his small lead or No.2: Come out all guns blazing in attempt to increase his lead and secure the victory. He chose the second one. The 23-year old rushed out of his corner and landed a few quick shots on Khytrov but unfortunately from that point the momentum switched and Khytrov controlled most of the action in the third and final round. Ogogo still managed to get a few scoring shots through but Khytrov was landing plenty too.  

When the fight ended, nobody was quite sure who had won. I thought Ogogo had just done enough but like everyone else, I wasn't sure.  

After a long and tense wait the scores finally came in. The two men had drawn 18-18 and then 52-52 on countback which meant the judges had to pick the boxer that they felt did better. And they all chose Mr. Anthony Ogogo, and I don't blame them. He showed so much heart, courage and passion to not only get through the fight but also do enough to win it. He was a huge underdog to get into the tournament but he got through, he was a huge underdog going into the fight but he upset the odds once again. 

After eliminating the tournament favourite, a huge door has opened up for Ogogo. As long as he stays focused and doesn't lose his head he can definitely become British boxing's next gold medallist.

Medzhidov is the one to beat!

Azerbaijan super-heavyweight Magomedrasul Medzhidov proved once again why he is regarded by almost everyone that knows the sport as the No.1 super-heavyweight in the world.

The 25-year old was the first boxer to enter the ring in the super-heavyweight division and his opponent was Meji Mwamba of Congo. It was clear from the beginning that Mwamba and his team knew exactly what they were getting themselves into. They knew that were facing the most dangerous amateur fighter in the world. Mwamba started very hesitantly but it was only a matter of time before Medzhidov landed one of his explosive right hands. And that's exactly what he did. As soon as one of them did land, it sent a jolt through the Congo native's body. Once a few more landed, the referee had to step in and issue one of the first eight-counts of the tournament. The momentum did not change throughout the whole time the fight lasted, which was only one and a half rounds. It was one-way traffic throughout the whole fight. Medzhidov actually knocked the headguard off of Mwamba's head just before the referee stepped in and stopped the fight just over two minutes into the second round.

Great Britain's Anthony Joshua.

Medzhidov is the reigning world champion after he picked up the gold medal in the World Championships that were held in his home country of Azerbaijan last year. He actually beat Great Britain's biggest Olympic hopeful in the final. It was a very close fight that could have gone either way, but I think it's fair to say that the 6"3 powerful tank probably just deserved to win. Not many people had heard of Medzhidov before the Olympics had started but I think there's no doubt that most of the 10,000 fans at the Excel Arena and the thousands of people watching at home know his name now.

Personally, I think the Olympic super-heavyweight division is a two-horse race. Anthony Joshua is the only man that stands a chance of stopping the man who has looked unstoppable so far. Joshua faces a tough challenge later today against Erislandy Savon of Cuba, but if he manages to get through that, I think he's guaranteed a place in the final.

Carl Froch puts on performance of his life!

On Saturday May 26th 2012 boxing fans witnessed one of the greatest performances ever by a British boxer. Carl Froch upset the odds and halted Lucian Bute in just 5 rounds to become the new IBF super-middleweight champion and three time world champion.

There were a lot of people who doubted Froch and Bute was a huge bookies favourite. The reason for this is that Bute was an undefeated fighter and had already made nine successful defences of his title. But, right from the off, it was clear that 'The Cobra' just had too much for the Canadian-based Romanian and the crowd were behind their man all the way. Every punch that knocked Bute's head back was followed by a roar from a 10,000 strong crowd. It was in the third round that it became clear that Froch was just inches away from becoming a world champion once again. There were a few shots that landed by Bute but they had no affect on the man with the iron chin. The fourth round was more of the same, Froch throwing flurries of punches and Bute looking as though he had nothing left. And then in the fifth, Froch pinned Bute against the ropes and finished the 33-year old off once and for all. It was a bit of a late stoppage but nobody cared... the crowd went crazy and Froch was the new super-middleweight champion of the world.

Froch hurt Bute on numerous occasions.

It was a dominating performance by the 35-year old Brit and he looked better than ever, even after being easily outclassed against pound-for-pound contender Andre Ward. Many people believe now that if he had performed like that against Andre Ward he may have even beat him.

It just goes to show that a fighter can be made to look good even if they only a 'B-class' fighter. Bute had never really fought anybody of any note but he was still ranked near the top of many people's pound-for-pound lists. This was his first fight in the "premier division" and he did not look like he could handle it at all.

Froch had a lot of fans going into this fight and I think after such a great performance he will have even more. There was no flaws and he showed boxing skills and controlled aggression to become the new champion of the world. Its onwards and upwards from here for 'The Cobra' as he has many options as to who he can fight next, and Froch being the fighter that he is he will not take the easy way out. His next few defences of the title will no doubt be against top class opponents and I'm looking forward to seeing the warrior back in action again.

Andre Berto vows to become world champ again this year!

www.hustleboss.com

Welterweight contender and former world champion Andre Berto claims to be returning to the ring soon and vows to become world champion once again in the near future.