BoxRec

What did we all make of this delayed coverage last night? I can't believe how much Freitas has receeded technically, he is awful just lunging in throwing big wide hooks. I am prety sure he didn't fight like that when he first burst onto the scene, against the likes of Lamuel Nelson, Barry Jones and Alexandrov he was a lot more compact and less open.

This said i thought Raheem won the fight but it was so messy i suppose it was all down to opinions, in all honesty it was an ugly fight and i found it hard to watch. Raheem had the ultimate hangers on in his entourage! Those back slappers screaming down his ear and bopping around beforehand can't have done him any good as well as wearing that daft crown, maybe it all went to his head. I think he had the tools to outbox this new unimproved version of Freitas, he should have thrown straight shots down the middle but it was such a messy fight with both men lunging and Raheem ducking in low it made for a poor spectacle.

Was i being harsh or did anyone else find it hard going?

Wasn't impressed with either but thought Freitas won as he seemed to land the more telling blows and Raheem in all honesty seemed scared to fight and let his hands go. Neither look good enough to dual with the likes of Corrales and Castillo although they are both moving up. As you say Freitas was not compact, if he'd been Hattons opponent he would of been taken out mid-rounds I think.

Liked the look of Andre Ward, think the US fans are a little hard on him.

steve689 wrote:What did we all make of this delayed coverage last night? I can't believe how much Freitas has receeded technically, he is awful just lunging in throwing big wide hooks.

Just like Hamed did under the same trainer.

Didn't enjoy the fight, both fighters were disappointing in my opinion after the first few rounds I lost a bit of interest and spent as much time reading my Boxing News as watching the fight itself.

Oscar Suarez has turned Freitas into a one trick pony, i'm not exactly sure what that trick is though! He seems over reliant on that massive power but it won't always work against slicker operators, Freitas should sack Suarez and get back to basics.

Suarez seems to have the knack for messing about with fighters natural styles and turning them into crap to be blunt. I think a draw would have been fair but Freatas was the more aggressive throughout and Raheem blew it really in the early round by being too negative... the fight seemed to be there for him to win as Freitas seems to have gone back quite a bit though to be honest I've always regarded him as being rather overrated and onedimensional even at his best... but at least in the past he was exciting to watch!!!.... :x :x :x

I was ringside the night Freitas KO'd Daniel Alicea that may well be the hardest punch I've seen in the flesh P4P.

KOJOE90 wrote:I was ringside the night Freitas KO'd Daniel Alicea that may well be the hardest punch I've seen in the flesh P4P.

He had/still has, great power but technically has never been that special. Maybe he looked worse than he is due to Raheems style and ring rust but Suarez in his corner seems to be a bad omen to me. Also wasn't impressed by Freitas attitude, the way he kept moaning about heads and holding... makes you wonder if his heart is 100% in the ring...

silkov wrote:

KOJOE90 wrote:I was ringside the night Freitas KO'd Daniel Alicea that may well be the hardest punch I've seen in the flesh P4P.

He had/still has, great power but technically has never been that special. Maybe he looked worse than he is due to Raheems style and ring rust but Suarez in his corner seems to be a bad omen to me. Also wasn't impressed by Freitas attitude, the way he kept moaning about heads and holding... makes you wonder if his heart is 100% in the ring...

Spot on. Freitas looked worse because it was a bad clash of styles, and because he's not great technically to begin with. The Grigorian fight was much the same, if you remember. Lots of flailing and grappling and such like. I'd like to see him in with Juan Diaz as that would be a much better mix of stlyles and a much more entertaining fight. Castillo and Corrales would both batter him at this point, but it'd be a good test for Diaz to see if he has what it takes to go to the next level.

glahn wrote:

silkov wrote:

KOJOE90 wrote:I was ringside the night Freitas KO'd Daniel Alicea that may well be the hardest punch I've seen in the flesh P4P.

He had/still has, great power but technically has never been that special. Maybe he looked worse than he is due to Raheems style and ring rust but Suarez in his corner seems to be a bad omen to me. Also wasn't impressed by Freitas attitude, the way he kept moaning about heads and holding... makes you wonder if his heart is 100% in the ring...

Spot on. Freitas looked worse because it was a bad clash of styles, and because he's not great technically to begin with. The Grigorian fight was much the same, if you remember. Lots of flailing and grappling and such like. I'd like to see him in with Juan Diaz as that would be a much better mix of stlyles and a much more entertaining fight. Castillo and Corrales would both batter him at this point, but it'd be a good test for Diaz to see if he has what it takes to go to the next level.

A fight with Corrales would be interesting as it remains to be seen how much Corrales has got left... I've the feeling he's going to be pretty much gone now. Freitas vs Morales would be a good one too I think and another one which would be hard to call as both are on the slide.

KOJOE90 wrote:I was ringside the night Freitas KO'd Daniel Alicea that may well be the hardest punch I've seen in the flesh P4P.

I remember that fight, i wasn't there but i seem to recall it was on the undercard of a big British fight? Freitas knocked Alicea's gumshield clean out of his mouth and Micky Vann waved it off, i seem to remember Alicea protesting the stoppage as well!

I have a lot of early Freitas fights on VHS, right back to when he was fighting the likes of John Montantes and quite a few times while still at an early stage he called out Naseem Hamed in the post fight interviews. Wouldn't that have been something back then!

steve689 wrote:

KOJOE90 wrote:I was ringside the night Freitas KO'd Daniel Alicea that may well be the hardest punch I've seen in the flesh P4P.

I remember that fight, i wasn't there but i seem to recall it was on the undercard of a big British fight? Freitas knocked Alicea's gumshield clean out of his mouth and Micky Vann waved it off, i seem to remember Alicea protesting the stoppage as well!

It was on the undercard of Calzaghe vs Woodhall in Sheffield.

The punch sounded like a shotgun going off.

steve689 wrote:Oscar Suarez has turned Freitas into a one trick pony, i'm not exactly sure what that trick is though! He seems over reliant on that massive power but it won't always work against slicker operators, Freitas should sack Suarez and get back to basics.

Agree with your last line, but not with the rest. Suarez (IMO) has tried to get Freitas to box more and he is NOT hitting as hard as before teamining up with him. I know Barry Jones was feather fisted to say the least, but you would never see Freitas trying to clumbly bounce when he was younger. He would go in there, with PLANTED FEET, and methodically try to break you down. Even in his fight before last he was fighting a worse opponent than Jones, but he was still trying to bounce and jab - and he didn't look close to stop him. Freitas pre Suarez would have KO'd him within 6.

He wasn't Mayorga esque wild before Suarez, but he wouldn't try to outbox a fighter.

However, give him some dues - whilst he looks climbsy as a boxer and looks so beatable, he has beaten some very good names through this boxing style (some controvesially mind) and was well on the way to outboxing Corrales before getting stopped.

It was a close fight but Freitas just looked to want it more. Raheem didn't want to fight on the inside and perhaps over-relied on looking good on an outside game. Wonder if he picked up quite a few fanboy's after the Morales win.

I was impressed by both boxer's chins, but it wasn't a classic by any stretch.

BTW, Frietas still hits the same, albeit with 'lesser' strength, at lightweight. He used to really sizzle down in his KO streak days and that's what made his punches heavier then.

Can't remember exactly what he said but I agreed with Glenn during the round 9-10 break; I reckon Raheem has little to complain about.

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Wasn't all that impressed with Andre Ward - looked one-paced, predictable, and lacking in imagination. Definately not ready to step up yet - his opponent was good in more ways than one.