Where is all the boxing....

[ArtOfWar]

There are hardly any major fights scheduled for the next month or so, what the hell is going. The sport already goes quiet during the summer months, now it's quiet at the beginning of the year to.

Give me my fix dammit.

[Asterix]

Domestically, this is the next bill I'm interested in:

Saturday 13 February 2010
http://boxrec.com/show_display.php?show_id=592303

Kevin Mitchell vs Ignacio Mendoza
Nathan Cleverly vs Antonio Brancalion
& the Olympians stepping up a bit.

[whicker]

I'm thinking the same thing- there are lots of OK fights coming up domestically, but nothing that really strikes me as a "must see" show or bout. Friday Fight tommorrow night looks limited, it has to be said.

[bennie]

Brian Rose has a big fight looming with Kelly Pavlik.

[whicker]

Brian Rose has a big fight looming with Kelly Pavlik.

For real???????

[bennie]

Brian Rose has a big fight looming with Kelly Pavlik.

For real???????

I think Pavlik meant "Ryan Rhodes".

[Wales]

Brian Rose has a big fight looming with Kelly Pavlik.

For real???????

nah, he meant rhodes (we think), although if it were for real it I wouldnt go and put the kettle on as the first bell sounded.

[Adamj1987]

Brian Rose has a big fight looming with Kelly Pavlik.

For real???????

Brian said no

[Poncey]

If you wanna be depressed, check out the HBO schedule.

2 fights between now and March 13th. 1 of them already cancelled.

Maybe the budget cut rumours are true.

[Asterix]

The best Brits are in action in April. It's a big month for British boxing.

David Haye vs John Ruiz on the 3rd
Carl Froch vs Mikkel Kessler on the 17th
Amir Khan vs Marcos Maidana on the 17th

Oh, and I'm not sure how good his opponent is, but Kell Brook is fighting for the WBO Inter-Continental welterweight title, which often leads to a title shot, against Krzysztof Bienias on the 12th of March.

[15829]

am looking forward to smith v dodson , macklin v pirog and sosnowski v harrison

[bennie]

Brilliant Kevin Mitchell looks to disprove the old boxing adage "You're as good as you're last fight" against Colombian hard man Ignacio Mendoza in a 12-rounder at Wembley Arena on February 13.
Mitchell, who has never boxed at the famous old boxing arena before, jumps straight to the top of a bill that includes a scrap for the European light-heavyweight title and one for the British heavyweight title. Nice work if you can get it and Mitchell has 'got it' in every sense of the expression.
The 25-year-old from Dagenham truly proved himself last month against big-hitting Breidis Prescott as he moved and boxed his way to a dazzling, one-sided 12-round decision over the giant of a lightweight who once sparked Amir Khan in under a minute. Believe me, Mitchell realized all his long-time potential against Prescott to go to 30-0 (22) under new trainer, the renowned Jimmy Tibbs. (Thank God it wasn’t Freddie Roach, or Mitchell would be tucked up in LA right now)
OK, Mendoza is no Prescott, which makes Mitchell the obvious pre-fight favourite, but he affords the home man the opportunity to loosen up for a potential shot at the WBO lightweight title later this year, possibly against Aussie warrior Michael "Rocky" Katsidis, which would be something very special indeed. Katsidis, and Mitchell for that matter, is never in a bad fight.
However, Mendoza must not be overlooked. The stocky, tough-looking visitor, who is based in Spain, made his way to Nottingham some years ago and showed good fundamentals – and a hard head - to take reigning British lightweight champ John Murray eight rounds before dropping a close technical decision (an injury stoppage that goes to the cards). He was only a kid back then and is still only 26, potentially an improving 26, although no-one has improved as much as Mitchell in the last 12 months. He showed against Prescott that his jab alone can win him fights – a 'real' jab – and brings speed, movement, fitness and real fighting temperament along with it. He usually fights rather than boxes. He 'means it' in there.
Mendoza will know all about him, of course, having witnessed Mitchell outclass his fellow countryman, no doubt. At 27-5-2 (18) Mendoza carries an obvious whack but has been stopped a couple of times, notably in three rounds by Russian threat Leva Kirakosyan, who scored two vicious wins over Carl Johanneson here and confronts Scott Lawton for the vacant European super-featherweight title in Stoke on February 19 (ouch!).
Mendoza looks solid enough to give Mitchell six or seven competitive rounds, unless Mitchell busts up his hands, and he has endured hand troubles in the past - but not solid enough to topple the headliner. Mendoza has lost two of 11 fights since Murray in 2005, with one 12-round draw.
Ultimately, just two months after doing a 'job' Khan should have done, Mitchell deserves this chance to tick over ahead of bigger fights. Not every fight can be a big one, certainly not successively. That’s how it works.

[TerribleTerry]

Wow. Seems like Mitchell really sold his world class credentials to you, Bennie, with that win over Prescott? I am a little more dubious myself, esp after his previous 'life and death' outing against Johansson. I hope his new propensity to rely more on boxing than brawling sticks but I am not sure he has the 'full package' needed to succeed on the world stage.. I hope the cockney firebrand proves me wrong though

[alexpaterson]

I am looking forward to the Saturday show with Chisora, Clev and Mitchell. Theres a few decent fights but not great must watch fights

[twenty six]

So who do you think will be in the other corner for Chisora ? Or are you saying lookin forward to it regardless ?

[bennie]

Wow. Seems like Mitchell really sold his world class credentials to you, Bennie, with that win over Prescott? I am a little more dubious myself, esp after his previous 'life and death' outing against Johansson. I hope his new propensity to rely more on boxing than brawling sticks but I am not sure he has the 'full package' needed to succeed on the world stage.. I hope the cockney firebrand proves me wrong though

Come on, Dan, give credit where credit is due. Mitchell walked the walk. Yes, I am unashamedly gushing but it was a 'ballsy' win which elevated him into top class.
Ask Amir Khan if it was a good win, or Freddie Roach.

[whicker]

Mitchell for that matter, is never in a bad fight.


Mitchell deserves this chance to tick over ahead of bigger fights. Not every fight can be a big one, certainly not successively. That’s how it works.

The Prescott fight was a bad fight, it has to be said. OK, he executed his gameplan, fair enough, but it wasn't a very entertaining contest.

As a ticking over fight its OK (the Mendoza fight) but it lacks something as a bill-topper.

[leforge]

Cleverly has to be the main event surely, a WBO inter toilet belt as a main event is poor!

[whicker]

Cleverly has to be the main event surely, a WBO inter toilet belt as a main event is poor!

The Olympians may well get TV coverage.

But surely they wouldn't leave the Cleverley fight off the tv bill... surely????

[leforge]

Cleverly has to be the main event surely, a WBO inter toilet belt as a main event is poor!

The Olympians may well get TV coverage.

But surely they wouldn't leave the Cleverley fight off the tv bill... surely????

Cleverly will be. This could be the night of mismatches!

[bennie]

As the days gratefully begin to draw out and even one or two cuckoos can be heard (bring on the cider), so we draw closer to Last Chance Saloon for one Audley Harrison. The big southpaw from Harrow, or is it Wembley, or Harlesden, or somewhere in the States – nobody really cares – challenges Poland's gutsy Albert Sosnowski for the European heavyweight title at the famous old Ally Pally in north London on April 9.
Harrison, who failed even to win an English title a couple of years ago, secured his prize in yet another Prizefighter heavyweight event last autumn when he won three bouts in one night, all of them scheduled three-rounders. Audley was pitched right back to his amateur days, which is probably why he won the the damned event. He had mastered the ghastly computer-scoring system in all his years in the unpaid ranks which took him to ABA, Commonwealth and Olympic titles - eventually. He was almost 30 by the time he turned pro on a balmy night in May 2001 against the worst heavyweight I've seen since Chuck Gardner, a red neck by the name of Mike Middleton who you would not want to meet on a canoe trip down a soon-to-be-damned river.
Perhaps Harrison's long-haul success in the amateurs explains why some boxing fans have stayed remarkably patient with him as he proceeded to disappoint or frustrate time and time again in the pros. Harrison, now pushing 39, was flattened by the much smaller but quicker Michael Sprott on his own part-time Wembley patch for the English belt and outgamed by Belfast's gutsy but limited Martin Rogan on the way to a points defeat. He was also outpointed in a dreary affair by Danny Williams - again after tasting the canvas (much to the amusement of promoter F rank Warren) - and to a similar reluctant type in America's Dominick Guinn after 10 dull rounds in California.
Otherwise, it is success all the way for the surly Londoner, but success breeds boredom, in his case. If Harrison does win, he does just enough to win, although he did 'jump' on an out-of-shape Williams in a return and halted him, prematurely I thought (the crowd booed the stoppage). Every dog has its day. Writer Graham Houston says Harrison fights so safety-first because he knows his chin is nothing. Why else would such a huge man with obvious boxing ability, fitness, fast hands and the occasional show of strength and a big shot, prove so reluctant to mix it?
Thankfully, Sosnowski is just the opposite, a true fighting man, a man who makes the most of his ability and opportunities. He grabbed his first opportunity against Williams in London in 2008, a Williams who, this time, was in shape. Danny had trained hard to face John McDermott in a rematch to a controversial first fight. McDermott pulled out injured and in came Sosnowski at desperately short notice and knocked Williams down and out in the eighth round. Today, people say Williams is 'shot'. They weren't saying it before Sosnowski. The 30-year-old Warsaw battler, powerful-looking and a decent banger, if a little stiff in the Frank Bruno mould, stepped up again a fight later when he ventured to Germany and snatched an excellent 12-round draw with the unbeaten Francesco Pianeta. To paraphrase Joe Jacobs, "He wuz robbed!" Pianeta, a giant southpaw like Audley, recently busted up and stopped Matt Skelton, so it really was a fine performance from Sosnowski and earned him a break here for the vacant European title against 39-year-old Italian Paolo Vidoz – a man outscored by Harrison in the 2000 Olympics – and outmuscled by the Pole on the way to a unanimous decision for the big belt last month.
Sosnowski is a modern day Duane Bobick, strong and willing but missing something, somehow. He has a great record against a lot of old men - men as old as Audley – but was held back until the Williams scalp and you wonder why. He will obviously come to win in April but is probably no better than Harrison, who is already making hollow 'feelers' at a crack at WBA heavyweight title David Haye, although Haye has yet another stinking opponent to think about in John Ruiz on April 3 in Manchester (a fight he will undoubtedly win but not necessarily in style).
To conclude, Harrison ranks as the Joe Bugner of the 21st century, thinking more about money than he does the fans. For once in his nine-year career Harrison has to think about the fans, the performance and the title. Even his own mother will finally give up on him if he runs yet again on the way to defeat.

[Bard of Boxrec]

Sosnowski by KO, I am damn sure of it.

[ArtOfWar]

Dirrell/Abraham has been postponed. The first part of this year has been awful for boxing. Absolute garbage!