Guzman-Arthur - Whats the news?
Guzman-Arthur - Whats the news?
Just as the title says, whats the news on Guzman V Arthur ? Are any tickets available yet?
Re: Guzman-Arthur - Whats the news?
I heard May big boy, so tickets should come out Marchish.whicker wrote:Just as the title says, whats the news on Guzman V Arthur ? Are any tickets available yet?
C'mon Arturo
Alex Arthur looks set to challenge Dominican hard man Joan Guzman for the WBO super-featherweight title on home turf in Edinburgh in the Spring.
This is a big fight, the culmination of a long, hard climb back up the mountain for "Amazing" Alex, after an amazing tumble against Michael Gomez in five rounds in 2003 in his only defeat. The classy, heavy-handed, punch-picking Scot has racked up 10 wins on the spin and earned his chance when he wore down and stopped Georgia's Koba "The Kobra" Gogoladze in 10 measured rounds last summer in Cardiff. But Arthur's love of a battle, and his struggle with the weight - both of which cost him against Gomez - came back to haunt him against the unheralded Stephen Foster Jnr just weeks ago in Edinburgh, and the gaunt-looking local man was put down in the 11th with a big right hand and barely scraped home on points a round later.
Not a performance that augurs well for this.
Still, 29-year-old Arthur may have taken Foster - and thus his training (he basically trains himself) - lightly. We can only hope so as he steps in with the swaggering Guzman, a champion known as "Little Tyson" who has won all 28 of his fights - 17 by knockout - and won the title outscoring Argentina's Jorge "Hyena" Barrios at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2006, a title he's retained twice on landslide decisions.
"Honestly, I believe I'm the total package," said Guzman. "I'm a slick boxer with speed, good movement, good defence and excellent power."
Guzman also held the WBO title at super-bantamweight, courtesy of a third-round knockout of Argentine Fabio Oliva in Cardiff Castle back in 2002 (body shots), and took seven rounds to break up bitter Dominican rival Agapito Sanchez (one of two successful defences) at the same San Diego Sports Arena where Ken Norton broke the jaw of Muhammad Ali all those years ago. He's no stranger to this level. To travel.
The scales eventually got the better of Guzman, who moved up to featherweight in 2005 and trounced tough Thai Terdsak Jandaeng in a 12-rounder (Jandaeng later pounded the right eye shut of Juan Manuel Marquez) before deciding he was a super-featherweight and busting up and outboxing Barrios, who came in overweight. Guzman retains his speed and boxing skills since leaving super-bantam - but not his power, given his last seven fights have gone the distance. Arthur, you know, has stopped 19 of his 26 victims and broke up world-ranked Belarussian Sergei Gulyakevich in seven rounds and Willie Limond in eight (the same Limond who came back to scare the life out of Amir Khan). He also shrugged off bad cuts to floor and almost stop Boris "The Blade" Sinitsin for the coveted European title and nearly took out Foster in the ninth round last time out (body shot), prior to Foster's gritty late-round heroics.
But an unbeaten fighter, an unbeaten world champion, has to be respected. Guzman claims he's been seriously avoided by the 'names' out there (he's now 32) and looks to have the tools to outbox and bust up the aggressive, cut-prone challenger, especially if Arthur starts winging again. "Alex is a strong guy, but I am too intelligent," reckons Guzman.
Even in Edinburgh, it will probably pan out that way.
This is a big fight, the culmination of a long, hard climb back up the mountain for "Amazing" Alex, after an amazing tumble against Michael Gomez in five rounds in 2003 in his only defeat. The classy, heavy-handed, punch-picking Scot has racked up 10 wins on the spin and earned his chance when he wore down and stopped Georgia's Koba "The Kobra" Gogoladze in 10 measured rounds last summer in Cardiff. But Arthur's love of a battle, and his struggle with the weight - both of which cost him against Gomez - came back to haunt him against the unheralded Stephen Foster Jnr just weeks ago in Edinburgh, and the gaunt-looking local man was put down in the 11th with a big right hand and barely scraped home on points a round later.
Not a performance that augurs well for this.
Still, 29-year-old Arthur may have taken Foster - and thus his training (he basically trains himself) - lightly. We can only hope so as he steps in with the swaggering Guzman, a champion known as "Little Tyson" who has won all 28 of his fights - 17 by knockout - and won the title outscoring Argentina's Jorge "Hyena" Barrios at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2006, a title he's retained twice on landslide decisions.
"Honestly, I believe I'm the total package," said Guzman. "I'm a slick boxer with speed, good movement, good defence and excellent power."
Guzman also held the WBO title at super-bantamweight, courtesy of a third-round knockout of Argentine Fabio Oliva in Cardiff Castle back in 2002 (body shots), and took seven rounds to break up bitter Dominican rival Agapito Sanchez (one of two successful defences) at the same San Diego Sports Arena where Ken Norton broke the jaw of Muhammad Ali all those years ago. He's no stranger to this level. To travel.
The scales eventually got the better of Guzman, who moved up to featherweight in 2005 and trounced tough Thai Terdsak Jandaeng in a 12-rounder (Jandaeng later pounded the right eye shut of Juan Manuel Marquez) before deciding he was a super-featherweight and busting up and outboxing Barrios, who came in overweight. Guzman retains his speed and boxing skills since leaving super-bantam - but not his power, given his last seven fights have gone the distance. Arthur, you know, has stopped 19 of his 26 victims and broke up world-ranked Belarussian Sergei Gulyakevich in seven rounds and Willie Limond in eight (the same Limond who came back to scare the life out of Amir Khan). He also shrugged off bad cuts to floor and almost stop Boris "The Blade" Sinitsin for the coveted European title and nearly took out Foster in the ninth round last time out (body shot), prior to Foster's gritty late-round heroics.
But an unbeaten fighter, an unbeaten world champion, has to be respected. Guzman claims he's been seriously avoided by the 'names' out there (he's now 32) and looks to have the tools to outbox and bust up the aggressive, cut-prone challenger, especially if Arthur starts winging again. "Alex is a strong guy, but I am too intelligent," reckons Guzman.
Even in Edinburgh, it will probably pan out that way.