THUS FAR BOXING IN 2013 HAS BEEN AN INJURY PRONE DUD!
Los Angeles, CA– This year has been filled with injury after injury, which has led to a multitude of fight cancelations and or postponements. A match between WBC and WBA 140lb champion Danny Garcia (25-0, 16 KOs) and Zab Judah(42-7, 29 KOs) has been rescheduled to April 27th due to a Garcia rib injury. A highly anticipated rematch between top American heavyweights Johnathon Banks (29-1-1, 19 KOs) and Seth Mitchell (25-1-1, 19 KOs) was to take place this past Saturday. An injured thumb for Banks led to the fights cancellation. Banks pulled off the huge upset in November of the highly regarded prospect and former Michigan State star linebacker Mitchell by 2nd round KO. IBF welterweight belt-holder Devon Alexander (24-1, 13 KOs) was scheduled to fight British welterweight sensation and mandatory challenger Kell Brook (29-0, 19 KOs) this coming Saturday on Showtime until a bicep injury has pushed the fight card back. It originally was postponed due to a Brook injury. All of these setbacks have led to what has been a mediocre beginning of the year for boxing fans.
BRONER LOOKS GOOD AGAINST LIMITED FOE
Adrien “The Problem” Broner (26-0, 22 KOs) does what he does best in the ring. He just makes it look easy. Saturday, in his first defense of the WBC lightweight (135lb) title against tough but outgunned Gavin Rees (37-2-1, 18 KOs), a native of Wales, he appeared to coast the first two rounds as the 5’4 Rees applied pressure mainly with a good body attack.
Is Broner a future superstar, or is he a product of his level of his opposition?
It was apparent though that Broner had just about every advantage; quicker hands, more power, better defense and just overall the much bigger man. Rounds three, four and five followed the script for the 30 to 1 favorite and Cincinnati native. Knockdowns in round 4 and 5 ended the beating as the referee stopped Rees on his feet at the advice of the corner. Broner did what he’s supposed to do, but it’s obvious that for the amount of money he’s being paid he needs to step up the level of opposition when you consider his ability, work ethic and talent.
HOPKINS JUST WONT GO AWAY. FACES IBF CHAMP CLOUD IN MARCH
March 9th is an intriguing matchup between “ancient” former middleweight(160lb) and lightheavyweight (175lb) champion Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins(52-6-2, 32 KOs) vs. IBF beltholder Tavoris Cloud (24-0, 19 KOs).
Will Hopkins ever hang them up?
They might as well call Hopkins the “terminator” because it seems like he doesn’t know when to quit. Bernard who turned 48 this year looks to break his own record for oldest fighter to win a title. He has more knockouts than Cloud has fights. However one thing that has to be of concern is that Hopkins has been the distance 12 times in a row, his last knockout happened in 2005. It’s inconceivable that he beats Cloud inside the distance.
Cloud also has dynamite in his fists, and although people may think he was exposed in his last bout, a controversial split nod over hard luck former champion Gabriel Campillo (21-5-1, 8 KOs) in February of last year, he was facing a southpaw. Although Cloud has been inactive only fighting 3 times in a three year span, I just don’t see how Hopkins wins. I believe the hour glass runs out on March 9th. You can’t beat father time, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hopkins stopped on his feet for the first time in his career.
IBF 140LB TITLE TILT ON ESPN FRIDAY
In what appears to be one of the best bouts of this series in quite sometime, ESPN Friday Night Fights will host IBF champion Lamont Peterson’s (30-1-1, 15 KOs) homecoming against dangerous punching challenger and former champion himself in Kendall Holt (28-5, 16 KOs) live from the DC Armory in Washington DC. Peterson hasn’t fought in 14 months due to a myriad of issues involving a positive drug test leading up to a rematch with Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KOs) set for April 2012, whom he won both IBF and WBA belts from in December 2011. The fight was scrapped, thus the long gap of inactivity. Holt has only fought once in 2012, that a 2nd round blowout over Tim Coleman (19-3-1, 9 KOs). His previous bout was a split decision loss to 140lb champ Danny Garcia in October 2011. This bout is a toss-up on paper. Each guy has various question marks. My belief is that Peterson has the bigger upside. Peterson can fight inside or outside and possibly has the better chin. While Holt is the bigger banger, he has lapses in fights where he can be outworked. He just doesn’t fight with the sense of urgency or consistency for a fighter of his talent level you would expect. I expect it to be a close but clear cut victory for the hometown DC native Peterson.
-Kevin Perry