BoxRec

Revisited some of Witter's old fights and some of Corley's efforts, and I have to say Witter is in with a good shout.

His fight with Judah, was better than I remember it. Though witter didn't do enough to win, it should have been closer on the cards than it was, though Junior did seem content to lose the last couple of rounds and survive, it was a good effort considering the short notice, though it wasn't that much fun to watch, Witter embarassed Judah I thought and early in the fight was nicking the rounds.

In the N'dou fight, I think it did seem clear Witter was in some distress in the middle rounds, though if he broke his hand it is no wonder, he did seem to throw the right very seldom after the 4th round. Ndou timed him quite easily with the right hand though.

I saw Corley against Cotto and Mayweather, and thought he looked very beatable in both. He caught Cotto with one fairly lucky shot, which hit him high on the head and produced a wobbly leg for a minute, but aside from that, he didn't do a lot and was actually rightly stopped, as he took a knee after having gone down once already, and was getting the poo knocked out of him. Thought the ref did the right thing.

Against Mayweather Corley had really one spell where he seemed to catch Mayweather unawares with a sneaky shot and stopped him in his tracks, but to say Mayweather was in big trouble was an exaggeration. Mayweather was giving him a pretty one sided kicking in there, and had he not bust his hand I think he would have definetly knocked him out.

Corley is a wide puncher, and although he has good movement, he's not anywhere near as slick as made out. His best result was the close loss to Judah, but Judah doesn't like fighters who can move as he cannot get set to let rip his shots.

The worry is the recent fights with Lynes and Kotelnik. Like N'dou, Kotelnik was able to march Witter down and catch him with straight right hands, and Lynes had Witter looking very ordinary in the latter half of their fight.

Corley can be hit and he hasn't got the best chin in the world, if Witter uses his boxing skills as opposed to winging in there, I think he should beat Corley, boxing off the front foot and cutting the ring down, he should be able to catch Corley pretty easily, but he has to be prepared for a distance fight as Corley seems to be able to hang in there.

I think Witter wins this one on a close decision, possibly after knocking Corley down in the middle rounds.

Good call, I'd gone along with that forecast too. I really, really hope that Witter can pull it off. I am a bit concerned at how he's gone off the boil in recent fights but hopefully that is just a case of him being stale and frustrated. Who knows, he might just turn in a career best performance and make everybody stand up and take note ? I think most people are expecting a tough, close fight but perhaps Junior will excel on the night ?

i want to see M'baye vs Witter, M'baye definatly gave Harris much trouble, edged Kotelnik and manhandled Balbi...both are on the same level of experience...bring it on!

The cheek of Mayweather in the latest Boxing Monthly saying Witter has no power and that the only only way Chop will lose is if he gets robbed in England.

JimJim wrote:Good call, I'd gone along with that forecast too. I really, really hope that Witter can pull it off. I am a bit concerned at how he's gone off the boil in recent fights but hopefully that is just a case of him being stale and frustrated. Who knows, he might just turn in a career best performance and make everybody stand up and take note ? I think most people are expecting a tough, close fight but perhaps Junior will excel on the night ?

I don't think it beyond Witter to stop Corley, Corley is wide open when he throws his own shots, as Witter can be sometimes, and is a fighter who relies on movement for defence. I can see either guy being knocked down, but I think Witter definetly has the better chin of the two, and more heart too. I think there's a bit of dog in Corley, he punked out in the Cotto fight by taking a knee, and seems to have a habit of going to the canvas and then claiming that it wasn't a knockdown.

Max Molyneux wrote:The cheek of Mayweather in the latest Boxing Monthly saying Witter has no power and that the only only way Chop will lose is if he gets robbed in England.

Witter hits harder than anyone Mayweather has faced to date. Corley isn't even a puncher, and he had both Cotto and Mayweather stunned, though in both cases much was made over what was really a fairly brief spell. Cotto had his wits about him when he was stunned, and just went into a shell for a time, Mayweather came right back at Corley when Corley landed the big left hook that stunned him, so couldn't have been that badly hurt.

Witter definetly has the power to hurt Corley, but he will need to throw combinations, not single shots, as Corley seems to wilt under sustained fire rather than a single explosive shot.

I'm starting to think Junior might just pull off a big win on friday night, after reading this good article by Kevin Mitchell. Sounds like he's training well, and you have to wonder how much real ambition Chopstick has left, after being trounced by both PBF and Cotto recently.
And one things seems sure about Witter: he can hit very hard.
Anyone who puts N'Dou in trouble like that is a world class puncher.

I think Witter might get to him early...but if Corley survives - who knows.

They should have called this article Big in Albania

Witter faces tough battle

Bradford's battling light-welterweight seeks world domination on Friday. Kevin Mitchell assesses his chances against a tough American

Sunday September 10, 2006
The Observer


Junior Witter does what it takes. He has been to college, worked with computers, put in the hours at the warehouse. And, between boxing the ears off anyone brave enough to share a ring with him, he tells young people about what it takes to stay afloat in life.
Witter grew up in Bradford, the son of Jamaican immigrant parents looking for a better life. The streets were not playgrounds of innocence. It was the sort of background that gave him perspective. He knows people who were involved as kids in the Bradford riots 11 years ago and admits he may have been alongside them. He saw the frustration in their eyes and sees them now, grown men, with nowhere to go but the street corner.

Witter, straight-talking and articulate, knew enough to walk away from that and found peace in the legal violence of the boxing ring. It might have been coincidence that he was good at it, but he has put in the work, as he does with all aspects of his life. For 16 years, largely toiling away from the limelight inhabited by others, he has not gone over the 10-stone limit, testimony to his commitment, and on Friday night in north London he has the chance to define his life the best way he knows how.

'Yeah, I've had to struggle,' he says. 'I've had to do it the hard way. But it's given me a wider view. Now I've got the chance to win the World Boxing Council light-welterweight title. That achievement will surpass any amount of money I can earn.'

If he comes through - and it will not be easy against the accomplished American DeMarcus Corley - he will take the experience and go back to the streets to share it with the youth of Bradford, before contemplating the possibility of a long-awaited meeting with Ricky Hatton.

Witter has spent a lot of time talking to youngsters who chose not to avoid the temptations of a tough town. 'Not many people can say they are the best in the world at anything,' he says. 'I will be able to say just that to them.'

He will if he can stay away from Corley's thunderous fists. Not for nothing is the man from Washington known as 'Chop Chop', having sent 17 of his 36 opponents back to the dressing room before schedule. Corley is no Floyd Mayweather, who vacated this title this year, but he is an awkward southpaw and a crafty veteran of 32, only a week older than Witter.

Witter is an extraordinarily dedicated boxer. Apart from a break at Christmas, he is in the gym every day. He has been in training for this title shot for 20 weeks. Dominic Ingle, who supervises his preparation, says he has rarely seen a fitter fighter. Corley is in for a sustained night's work.

They have a common opponent in Zab Judah. Both have lost to the New Yorker at different stages of his career. Witter took the fight against a peak-form Judah six years ago at nine days' notice. He still regrets his survival strategy rather than going for the win he could have pinched with his smart boxing. Corley dropped a split decision to a softened-up Judah in 2003. Eighteen months earlier, a disrespectful and cocky Judah had his brains scrambled in two rounds by Kostya Tszyu, the best light-welterweight at the time.

The Judah fight was Witter's only loss and one of four for Corley, who has mixed in slightly better company. The American took Mayweather 12 rounds and was stopped in five by the outstanding Miguel Cotto last year. Since then, Corley has put his career back together with an eight-round points win over perennial loser Kevin Carter and stopped the marginally better Johnny Walker last September. Since the Judah fight, Witter has won 18 times, picking up the British, Commonwealth and European titles. He did not look interested last time out, in October against Colin Lynes of Hornchurch, but, as he says: 'I do what it takes.'

That is the form line.

At Alexandra Palace, we will find out if the man from Bradford is the best-kept secret in boxing, and not, as he jokes, just 'big in Albania' - one of the few countries taking TV coverage of this contest. It ought to have stirred more interest, but Witter is the sort of hard-beat spoiler that networks do not always warm to.

It is a genuine title - as prestigious as the International Boxing Federation belt Hatton gave up (after forcing Tszyu into temporary retirement last year), when he ill-advisedly and briefly moved up to welterweight.

If Witter beats Corley, he will make the widely longed-for showdown with Hatton hard to resist, whatever the politics. They loathe each other, which would make it great box office. Victory would also confirm the belief among executives at Home Box Office that Witter is worth showcasing on a larger stage.

He might have earned a delayed spot on the American boxing channel but for a fixtures clash with Marco Antonio Barrera next weekend. That is how his promoter, Mick Hennessey, sees it, anyway - and what is a fight-game deal-maker if he is not optimistic?

There is no escaping the fact, though, that Witter's profile outside the sport's hardcore following is low. Which is a shame because he has bags of talent. He comes out of the Brendan Ingle stable in Wincobank, Sheffield, and that alone ensures he is not run-of-the-mill. He boxes off either foot, has sweet timing, good appreciation of angles and has added beef to his punch. His mood can dip against mediocre opposition, but he lights up if stretched. And he will be seriously stretched against Corley.

It is hard to draw Witter on what happens next, but the name of Hatton is never far from his lips.

'I've been the best light-welterweight in England for a long time,' Witter says, 'and one of the best in the world. But unless people want to talk about [Hatton] and me boxing, I'm not too interested in what he's doing.'

Hatton, whose alarming weight gains between fights concerns everyone but the fighter, is next slated to box in January, against the Colombian Juan Urango for the IBF light-welterweight title he took from Tszyu. And Tszyu, inevitably, is making a comeback. Witter's quiet life is becoming rather interesting.

He will if he can stay away from Corley's thunderous fists. Not for nothing is the man from Washington known as 'Chop Chop', having sent 17 of his 36 opponents back to the dressing room before schedule.

It says as much in a lot of articles about this fight; I can remember Americans on another board I used to go on telling me about Corley before I'd ever seen him (a few years ago), the general opinion was B-B+ fighter, cagey and durable, No power etc.
What's with all this talk of him being a big puncher all of a sudden, is it because of the Cotto fight?

mrbassie wrote:

He will if he can stay away from Corley's thunderous fists. Not for nothing is the man from Washington known as 'Chop Chop', having sent 17 of his 36 opponents back to the dressing room before schedule.

It says as much in a lot of articles about this fight; I can remember Americans on another board I used to go on telling me about Corley before I'd ever seen him (a few years ago), the general opinion was B-B+ fighter, cagey and durable, No power etc.
What's with all this talk of him being a big puncher all of a sudden, is it because of the Cotto fight?

That's got to be sarcasm. Corley's never, ever, stopped anyone remotely decent.

I know corley not a concussive hitter but he has respectable power. I mean his style means that even if he has someone hurt he wont neccessarily go for the finish but just box his way to a victory. This is true for a lot of boxers whose have decent power and if they were to adopt a more aggressive style they would definitely have more ko's on their record. BTW witter on a MD

Still think this is going to be a stinker, with a close points win one way or the other. Originally fancied Corley, but with home advantage, maybe Junior sneaks it. I really don't know.

Now that's what I call analysis.

Corley isn't a puncher, he's a sneaky hitter, but he's not able to get people out of there. When he had Cotto hurt, he couldn't really get the job done despite winging into the body with all his might, Cotto just rode it out and beat the crap out of him, walking through him in the 5th and decking him what should have been twice before the stoppage.

Witter is a big puncher, his problem is that too often they come as single shots, which makes it hard to finish off quality operators. However, despite his competitiveness with Judah, I don't see Corley as being all that. Kotelnik and Lynes were able to go the distance because for large parts of the fights they were negative. Corley's defence is pretty poor, and I think Witter is far too quick for Corley to stay out of trouble using his legs. I see Corley getting tagged early, and either surviving to maybe nick some of the later fight, or maybe getting overwhelmed.

In fairness, I think Witter's distress was caused by the broken hand in the N'dou fight, I don't think he was knackered, he just couldn't use the right with any real power, and so panicked a bit when N'dou came on late on. Neither of those two shots landed flush on N'dou, if they had done, I don't think he would have gotten up.

Apparently N'dou's camp said that Lovemore had never felt anything like those shots before, and that's quite possible, because he stood up to everything Cotto could land pretty well.

Witter needs to fight off of the front foot, use his jab to back Corley up, and press him. Corley looks disorganised when pressured by a big puncher, but if you give him room to work he can make you look bad, as he did to Judah. Witter has to be aggressive in there and force Corley to trade, because if they swap bombs, it's Corley who will be going down.

Good article.Is Witter single as it says on his myspace he is but i thought he was married.

emma wrote:Good article.Is Witter single as it says on his myspace he is but i thought he was married.

won't ask why you are interested.

I really hope witter does it, much of it will be down to weather Corly manages to adapt to his style. I think that it should be Witter by a mid round KO, dunno why just a feeling.

Other than Naz and Paul Ingle, has Brendon Ingle produced any world champs? Harol Graham who should have been a world champ doesn't count.

Would love to see this fight just moved to london and live within spitting distance of the alli pally but working for free for a charity so too poor sniff sniff.

Good luck Jr bring a title to yorkshire.

I noticed that against Mayweather, Corley just threw out his boxing skills and tried to pressure Mayweather, I guess he figured that he couldn't hope to outbox him, so he'd try and fluster him. This turned out to be as effective as using your face to muffle the impact of a falling breezeblock and he got pelted like a coconut shy. If he finds himself unable to outbox Witter I suspect the same may happen.

I think Corley did well against Judah, because Judah likes to be static when he throws his punches, whereas Witter can punch on the move pretty well, Corley's movement kept Judah guessing, but Judah couldn't get near Witter at all when Witter moved.

I think Witter has the tools for Corley, provided he doesn't allow Corley to dictate distance and pace of the fight.

josh fg wrote:
Other than Naz and Paul Ingle, has Brendon Ingle produced any world champs? Harol Graham who should have been a world champ doesn't count.

Would love to see this fight just moved to london and live within spitting distance of the alli pally but working for free for a charity so too poor sniff sniff.

Good luck Jr bring a title to yorkshire.

Paul Ingle was trained by Steve Pollard.

Yes come on Junior bring another belt over to Britain.

Terence wrote:Witter losing on points in a stinker must be worth a punt, I'd like him to win and he has a good camp but his recent form is not encouraging for me.

Also his much vaunted power might let him down, even during his KO streak (in which he fought some pretty unspectacular opposition) was made up of many TKO's. He hits guys with some good shots but with every shot that his opponent takes a little of Witter's power seems to fade. N'dou was down early and hurt hand or not a finisher would have had him out pf there.

His power fades late in a fight and despite the limitations of Corley he is a step up from Witter's recent, two, fights, fights in which he barely performed. I know the talk is that Witter found it hard to get 'up' for these fights but isn't that the point of being a contender? That you are 'up' for every fight to put pressure on other fighters? You cannot expect to win a few fights then have the more established guys lining up to fight you.

So how does Witter go from being lackadaisical into being raring to go? Plus he is already talking about Hatton ducking him again so the chances are that he may already feel his journey has ended even though the final stretch is coming up.

Beyond four rounds his power seems to fade so there is a possibility that the final 2/3 of the fight is a pot-shotting mess.

Still, I'm a pessimist and am expecting a dire points fight so hopefully the reality will confound that and Witter will get the title belt he has worked for. If he doesn't he may have to ask himself hard questions about what makes a title-holder a title-holder, it isn't losing interest in contention.

Im a Witter fan but thats part of my worry. Supposedly Witter wasnt up for those fights and didnt train. But he may just never have developed into more than a 5round fighter. He could be past his prime, and just nothing more than a 3-5round fighter too.

Terence wrote:

Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:

Terence wrote:Witter losing on points in a stinker must be worth a punt, I'd like him to win and he has a good camp but his recent form is not encouraging for me.

Also his much vaunted power might let him down, even during his KO streak (in which he fought some pretty unspectacular opposition) was made up of many TKO's. He hits guys with some good shots but with every shot that his opponent takes a little of Witter's power seems to fade. N'dou was down early and hurt hand or not a finisher would have had him out pf there.

His power fades late in a fight and despite the limitations of Corley he is a step up from Witter's recent, two, fights, fights in which he barely performed. I know the talk is that Witter found it hard to get 'up' for these fights but isn't that the point of being a contender? That you are 'up' for every fight to put pressure on other fighters? You cannot expect to win a few fights then have the more established guys lining up to fight you.

So how does Witter go from being lackadaisical into being raring to go? Plus he is already talking about Hatton ducking him again so the chances are that he may already feel his journey has ended even though the final stretch is coming up.

Beyond four rounds his power seems to fade so there is a possibility that the final 2/3 of the fight is a pot-shotting mess.

Still, I'm a pessimist and am expecting a dire points fight so hopefully the reality will confound that and Witter will get the title belt he has worked for. If he doesn't he may have to ask himself hard questions about what makes a title-holder a title-holder, it isn't losing interest in contention.

Im a Witter fan but thats part of my worry. Supposedly Witter wasnt up for those fights and didnt train. But he may just never have developed into more than a 5round fighter. He could be past his prime, and just nothing more than a 3-5round fighter too.

Don't get me wrong, it will be good if he wins but how can you go from being 'off' for 24 rounds and then back to 'on'? That is my main worry.

This could be a turgid fight. If it is nip and tuck for five rounds it could be bad for Witter.

Eubank was a pretty on/off sort of fighter, Jonny Nelson looked terrible against Jones but looked decent in his next fights. So who knows. Hes goto be up for this 1 and no how good Corley is though.

I reckon this fight will be horrible.

Corley has pretty solid power, he just doesn't have 1-punch KO power and he is an exceptionally poor finisher, either botching it, sitting back to admire work, or just happy not to press...

Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:

Terence wrote:Witter losing on points in a stinker must be worth a punt, I'd like him to win and he has a good camp but his recent form is not encouraging for me.

Also his much vaunted power might let him down, even during his KO streak (in which he fought some pretty unspectacular opposition) was made up of many TKO's. He hits guys with some good shots but with every shot that his opponent takes a little of Witter's power seems to fade. N'dou was down early and hurt hand or not a finisher would have had him out pf there.

His power fades late in a fight and despite the limitations of Corley he is a step up from Witter's recent, two, fights, fights in which he barely performed. I know the talk is that Witter found it hard to get 'up' for these fights but isn't that the point of being a contender? That you are 'up' for every fight to put pressure on other fighters? You cannot expect to win a few fights then have the more established guys lining up to fight you.

So how does Witter go from being lackadaisical into being raring to go? Plus he is already talking about Hatton ducking him again so the chances are that he may already feel his journey has ended even though the final stretch is coming up.

Beyond four rounds his power seems to fade so there is a possibility that the final 2/3 of the fight is a pot-shotting mess.

Still, I'm a pessimist and am expecting a dire points fight so hopefully the reality will confound that and Witter will get the title belt he has worked for. If he doesn't he may have to ask himself hard questions about what makes a title-holder a title-holder, it isn't losing interest in contention.

Im a Witter fan but thats part of my worry. Supposedly Witter wasnt up for those fights and didnt train. But he may just never have developed into more than a 5round fighter. He could be past his prime, and just nothing more than a 3-5round fighter too.

Dominic Ingle said today that Witter got complacent and didn't train properly for Lynes, which to be fair is not that surprising, it was just a tune up, and he made the mistake plenty of other professionals have made.

Witter didn't really look tired agaisnt N'dou or Kotelnik, he finished well in the last round of both fights and nicked the round, and was up on his toes. I don't think gassing is the problem, it's mental fragility.

Straight punchers seem to bother Witter, but Corley is a wide puncher who uses the left hook extensively.

Much of it is down to what kind of fighter Witter still is, if he is as horrible as he looked vs Kolotnik (didn't see Lynes but heard he was similarly dreadful) then he is in trouble, however I think he will certainly be up for this and proberbly put on a good show.

Witter looked awful against Lynes, really awful. He said himself he will lose if he comes in and performs like that.

josh fg wrote:Much of it is down to what kind of fighter Witter still is, if he is as horrible as he looked vs Kolotnik (didn't see Lynes but heard he was similarly dreadful) then he is in trouble, however I think he will certainly be up for this and proberbly put on a good show.

My thoughts as well, i do see Witter getting hurt a couple of times, but coming through for a KO in 7

lol James has a caht with Dominic Ingle and all of a sudden thinks the sun shines out of Witter's arse.

Typical Hack!

:p