February 21, 2016

KO's Ringside Notes & Quotes XII — What Will The "Fury Era" Look Like?

Hughie, Lewis, and the New
By Jeffrey Freeman, KO Digest

What kind of world heavyweight champion will Tyson Fury be? Will he be like Leon Spinks, remembered most for upsetting an all-time great heavyweight champion and then losing the title right back to him in an immediate rematch? Or will he be like Michael Spinks by winning the Wladimir Klitschko rematch (by boring decision) and then getting blasted out by American Deontay Wilder? Will Fury be like his namesake, Mike Tyson, a devastating champion (for a while) but one who gets knocked out in a huge upset for the title? 

Perhaps Fury will be like "Buster" Douglas, a one-hit, upset wonder, and then KO by 3 David Haye in his very next fight? Or will he be like Larry Holmes and go on to a lengthy reign with nearly 20 title defenses? Come to think of it, if that's Fury's destiny, he also then follows in the footsteps of the man he beat. Speaking of Klitschko, will Fury be like Wladimir, not even the best Fury in the family? Could Hughie be his Vitali? Or will Fury be like Muhammad Ali, a global (albeit controversial) boxing superstar with a mouth that people pay (and pay again) to see get shut? Or maybe Fury will be like Lennox Lewis, the last heavyweight champion from the United Kingdom, a damn good champ whose chin occasionally lets him down? 

Triple G
Knockout Artist — It's been almost 8 years since a professional prizefighter of any kind has gone the distance with World Middleweight Champion Gennady Golovkin. The date was June 21, 2008. The place was Brøndby Hall in Denmark. The opponent was a Frenchman named Amar Amari. By some stroke of divine intervention, Amari was able to go the 8 round distance with a then 12-0 GGG despite the fact that in 27 pro bouts, Amari was stopped not once or twice but FIVE times. Amari fought only thrice more after his 15 minutes of fame, winning one of three (all 3X by decision) before disappearing from the sport only to become "famous" later for not getting knocked out by the hardest puncher he ever faced.

Deutschland Raub — If Felix Sturm won another ABC middleweight title at home in the deep dark woods of Germany but nobody was there to care about the bad decision, would his victory make a sound? That's what happened 2/20/16 when Sturm defeated Fedor Chudinov by dodgy decision for the WBA 168 lb. "super" title. The year 2004 was a long time ago but that's when Sturm had his most meaningful bout, a controversial decision loss to future Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya. Everybody knows Sturm beat the "Golden Boy" but that's boxing politics. Sturm's boxing record is now littered with so many ripoffs, it's hard to keep track of when he was the victim and/or when he was the beneficiary of a robbery.

And we wonder why people don't follow boxing like they used to. They can't.

About Bigmouths
No Problem Fool — The just announced ‪#‎BronerTheophane‬ ‪#‎PBC‬ fight on April Fools Day in Washington D.C. interests me for no other reason than to hear these two fighters talk some good old fashioned USA vs. UK trash. I can't speak to the fight itself. It's an odd pairing. I pity the fool who cares too much about it. But the promotion should be fun for me as a boxing writer. Both of these 140 pound egomaniacs posses the gift of gab. That's another way of saying they each have huge pieholes. How huge? The late great Morton Downey Jr. ain't got nothing on either of these bigmouths. Broner's yap is well known. I got an earful of Theophane during media activities for his 2013 loss to Pablo Cesar Cano on the ‪#‎MayweatherCanelo‬ undercard. I actually liked what I heard, wanted to hear more, and think you probably will too. KO's real question is, will AB and Ashley talk better than they fight? We'll all know the answer soon enough.

Do you see what I see Tommy?
Illegal U Turn — Recently re-retired Boston bad boy Danny "Dropkick" O'Connor and members of the New York Police Department now have something in common. Both have been beaten up by "light punching" Brooklyn Brawler Gabriel "Tito" Bracero. Last October in Lowell, Mass, Bracero did a beatdown job on Danny in 41 seconds flat that sent O'Connor straight to the hospital. 

It was reported by the New York Post that Bracero allegedly put the proverbial boots to some NY boys in blue after they pulled "Tito" over for driving while punch drunk on his way home from a marijuana dispensary. Bracero, whose criminal rap sheet is as long as Deontay Wilder's jab, has been overcharged with a litany of other minor offenses. Where Bracero goes from here is up in the air like smoke.  

Tappin' Out Like Father Like Daughter — When the hottest thing about "ultimate" cage fighting is that their over-hyped and totally exposed media creation Ronda Rousey supposedly thought about killing herself after a KO loss to a talented boxer named Holly Holm, well folks, that's a dying "sport" that can't kick the bucket fast enough as far as I'm concerned. Boxing wins. Human cockfighting loses. 

CANELO VS. GGG better be next
Middleweight Dominic Wade
 

Ten Facts About GGG's Next Opponent: 

1. "The Blade" is 18-0 with 12 knockouts.
2. He's 25 years old from Maryland, USA.
3. Was trained by the respected Barry Hunter.
4. He beat the underrated Dashon Johnson.
5. Decisioned Sam Soliman to earn his shot.
6. Is the I.B.F. #1 mandatory middleweight.
7. Pro debut in 2009, was inactive in 2012.
8. Beat Edwin Rodriguez in the amateurs.
9. Signed with PBC big boss Al Haymon.
10. 100-1 underdog against ‪#‎GGG‬ 4/23.