Tag: Boxing Junkie

Great Eight: Tyson Fury leaves no doubt that he is No. 1

Tyson Fury disassembled Deontay Wilder on Saturday to reclaim a major title and leave no doubt that he is the best active heavyweight.

Who are the best boxers in each of the original eight weight classes? Check out Boxing Junkie’s new “Great Eight” feature.

***

Thank you, Tyson Fury. You made our job easy.

The “Gypsy King” disassembled Deontay Wilder on a dramatic Saturday night in Las Vegas to reclaim a major title and leave no doubt whatsoever — at least in our collective opinion — that he is the best heavyweight in the world.

Thus, the colorful and remarkably skillful Englishman supplants Wilder as the heavyweight champ in Boxing Junkie’s Great Eight feature, in which we determine the best boxer in each of the original eight weight classes — heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and flyweight.

It’s difficult to imagine that anyone will have a problem with our decision but hardened cynics are out there.

They might point to Anthony Joshua, who holds three of the four recognized sanctioning-body titles. We roll our collective eyes at that notion. Joshua had his behind handed to him by chubby underdog Andy Ruiz Jr. two fights ago, losing his belts in the process, before rebounding with an uninspiring points victory in the rematch.

We feel that Joshua is still rebuilding what he lost in the first fight with Ruiz, if that’s even possible.

And think about what Fury has done. He stunned the boxing world by easily outpointing seemingly untouchable Wladimir Klitschko to become the heavyweight champion in 2015 only to leave the sport to battle his inner demons for a few years.

Then, after losing about 150 pounds of blubber, he comes back (probably too soon) and outboxes Wilder in the opinion of most observers but has to settle for a draw in 2018. And, finally, with a new trainer and a new, aggressive style, he pummels and then stops his then-unbeaten rival in less than seven full rounds.

That’s legendary stuff.

The only remaining argument against Fury is that a victory over Wilder is overrated because Wilder is a crude boxer who has only one weapon, his big right hand.

We don’t buy that. Forty-one of Wilder’s 42 victories have come by knockout. He doesn’t have the skill set of, say, Fury, but that punching power ends up being the deciding factor in virtually all of Wilder’s fights. And, in this case, Fury just didn’t allow it to play a role in the outcome.

Brilliant performance, exceptional fighter. Fury arguably is the best big man since countryman Lennox Lewis was at the top of his game a generation ago.

Check out our Great Eight below.

 

HEAVYWEIGHT – Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs)

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT – Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs)

MIDDLEWEIGHT – Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs)

WELTERWEIGHT – Terence Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs)

LIGHTWEIGHT – Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs)

FEATHERWEIGHT – Gary Russell Jr. (30-1, 18 KOs)

BANTAMWEIGHT – Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs)

FLYWEIGHT – Kosei Tanaka (15-0, 9 KOs)

 

Degrees of Separation: Linking Tyson Fury to first U.K.-born heavyweight champ

In this installment of Degrees of Separation, we link Tyson Fury to the first U.K.-born heavyweight champion, Bob Fitzsimmons in 11 steps.

Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six social connections.

In other words, you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Queen Elizabeth. Or so the concept goes.

We’re borrowing the six degrees concept – well, sort of loosely – to connect fighters from the past to their more contemporary counterparts in our new occasional feature, “Degrees of Separation.”

Example: Let’s connect Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Super easy; we did it in two steps. Senior fought Grover Wiley, who fought Junior.

In the first installment of the new Boxing Junkie feature, we connected heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder to the first heavyweight champ of the modern era, John L. Sullivan.

Now, in third installment, it’s the turn of lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who faces Wilder in a rematch on Feb. 22. We link “The Gypsy King” to the first U.K.-born heavyweight champion, Bob Fitzsimmons, who won the heavyweight title in 1897 and last fought in 1914.

And it took us only 12 steps, which isn’t bad given the century-plus between the fighters’ careers.

Check it out:

Bob Fitzsimmons fought …

Jack Johnson, who fought …

Jess Willard, who fought …

Jack Dempsey, who fought …

Jack Sharkey, who fought …

Joe Louis, who fought …

Rocky Marciano, who fought …

Archie Moore, who fought …

Muhammad Ali, who fought …

Larry Holmes, who fought …

Ray Mercer, who fought …

Wladimir Klitschko, who fought …

Tyson Fury

 

Could you do it in fewer steps? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook. Or you can contact me on Twitter. And please follow us!

Degrees of separation: Connecting John L. Sullivan to Deontay Wilder

Degrees of Separation: Connecting Canelo Alvarez with Mexican legends

Boxing Junkie connects Canelo Alvarez to his legendary Mexican counterparts Julio Cesar Chavez, Ruben Olivares and Salvador Sanchez.

Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six social connections.

In other words, you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Queen Elizabeth. Or so the concept goes.

We’re borrowing the six degrees concept — well, sort of loosely — to connect fighters from the past to their more contemporary counterparts in our new occasional feature, “Degrees of Separation.”

Example: Let’s connect Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Super easy; we did it in two steps. Senior fought Grover Wiley, who fought Junior.

In the second installment of the new Boxing Junkie feature, we connect Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez to three of his countrymen who are widely considered the best their nation has produced: Julio Cesar Chavez, Ruben Olivares and Salvador Sanchez.

Chavez last fought in 2005, Olivares in 1988 and Sanchez in 1982.

Check it out:

CHAVEZ TO ALVAREZ

Julio Cesar Chavez fought …

Oscar De La Hoya, who fought …

Shane Mosley, who fought …

Canelo Alvarez

***

OLIVARES TO ALVAREZ

Ruben Olivares fought …

Rafael Gandarilla, who fought …

Tracy Harris Patterson, who fought …

Arturo Gatti, who fought …

Floyd Mayweather, who fought …

Canelo Alvarez

***

SANCHEZ TO ALVAREZ

Salvador Sanchez fought …

Juan Laporte, who fought …

John John Molina, who fought …

Shane Mosley, who fought …

Canelo Alvarez

 

Could you do it in fewer steps? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook. Or you can contact me on Twitter. And please follow us!

Degrees of separation: Connecting John L. Sullivan to Deontay Wilder

Degrees of Separation: Connecting fighters from different eras

Boxing Junkie kicks off a new feature — “Degrees of Separation,” in which we connect fighters from different eras.

Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six social connections.

In other words, you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Queen Elizabeth. Or so the concept goes.

We’re borrowing the six degrees concept — well, sort of loosely — to connect fighters from the past to their more contemporary counterparts in our new occasional feature, “Degrees of Separation.”

Example: Let’s connect Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Super easy; we did it in two steps. Senior fought Grover Wiley, who fought Junior.

To kick off the new Boxing Junkie feature, we were more ambitious than that. We connected the first modern heavyweight champion – John L. Sullivan – with the current No. 1 big man in the sport – Deontay Wilder. And we did it in 15 steps.

Check it out:

John L. Sullivan fought …

James J. Corbett, who fought …

James J. Jeffries, who fought …

Jack Johnson, who fought …

Jess Willard, who fought …

Jack Dempsey, who fought …

Jack Sharkey, who fought …

Joe Louis, who fought …

Rocky Marciano, who fought …

Archie Moore, who fought …

Muhammad Ali, who fought …

Larry Holmes, who fought …

Evander Holyfield, who fought …

Nikolai Valuev, who fought …

Sergei Liakhovich, who fought …

Deontay Wilder

Whew! That took a while. But, in our defense, we bridged more than a century. Sullivan last fought in 1892 and Wilder, of course, is still active.

Could you do it in fewer steps? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook. Or you can contact me on Twitter. And please follow us!

Pound-for-pound: The fall of Julian Williams

Julian Williams’ knockout loss to Jeison Rosario on Saturday put a damper on his pound-for-pound hopes.

Julian Williams had said that his goal was to become the No. 1 fighter pound-for-pound. Well, that’s going to be a lot more difficult now.

Williams, who had been an honorable mention on the Boxing Junkie list of best fighters, was knocked out in five rounds by relatively obscure Jeison Rosario to lose his junior middleweight titles Saturday in Philadelphia.

“JRock” probably will get another crack at Rosario because of a rematch clause. However, even a victory would only be a small step toward pound-for-pound supremacy.

Williams rebounded from disappointment before, climbing back to elite status after he was knocked out by Jermall Charlo. But coming back from two knockouts? That’s not easy.

Alas, Williams is off our list after his setback Saturday. Replacing him as an honorable mention is Teofimo Lopez, the unbeaten lightweight titleholder who is coming off a sensational second-round knockout of Richard Commey in December.

Lopez, 22, could face his own Waterloo soon; he’s negotiating to meet Vasiliy Lomachenko, Boxing Junkie’s No. 1 fighter. Of course, a victory would catapult Lopez into the Top 10.

You just never know. Ask Williams.

Check out our pound-for-pound list below. And let us know what you think.

BOXING JUNKIE

POUND-FOR-POUND

  1. Vasiliy Lomachenko
  2. Terence Crawford
  3. Canelo Alvarez
  4. Naoya Inoue
  5. Oleksandr Usyk
  6. Gennadiy Golovkin
  7. Errol Spence Jr.
  8. Juan Francisco Estrada
  9. Mikey Garcia
  10. Artur Beterbiev
  11. Josh Taylor
  12. Manny Pacquiao
  13. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
  14. Leo Santa Cruz
  15. Kosei Tanaka

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Miguel Berchelt, Mairis Briedis, Tyson Fury, Teofimo Lopez, Shawn Porter

Great Eight: Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury to decide who’s No. 1

The Feb. 22 rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury will determine the Great Eight heavyweight representative.

Who are the best boxers in each of the original eight weight classes? Check out Boxing Junkie’s new “Great Eight” feature.

***

The Great Eight, Boxing Junkie’s list of the best fighters in each of the original eight weight divisions, could look different soon.

On Feb. 22, Deontay Wilder defends his sanctioning-body heavyweight title in a rematch with Tyson Fury at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. And Canelo Alvarez could announce that he’s finished at middleweight, although he hasn’t ruled out another fight at 160 pounds.

The Wilder-Fury fight is unusual in that the winner will be recognized as the top big man even though Anthony Joshua holds three of the four major belts.

Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) and Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs), who fought to a draw in December 2018, remain unbeaten. By comparison, Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) was put down four times and stopped by Andy Ruiz Jr. to lose his belts this past June and regained them in a convincing, but safety-first manner in December.

Thus, the Feb. 22 winner will be the Great Eight heavyweight. (Boxing Junkie loves when such things are decided in the ring.)

Meanwhile, Alvarez still holds two middleweight titles but – having fought as heavy as 175 pounds – it seems inevitable that he’ll give up his 160-pound belts and settle in as a 168-pounder in the near future.

Who could replace him at middleweight in the Great Eight? No-brainer: Gennadiy Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs).

Triple-G has accomplished a tremendous amount in his career and is only a hair behind Alvarez at 160 pounds right now. He’s the obvious candidate to step in if Alvarez leaves.

That said, Golovkin will be 38 on April 8. We don’t know whether he has begun to decline but that or possibly retirement can’t be far off. Among those in position to replace him: Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade, Daniel Jacobs and Sergey Derevyanchenko.

Who knows who might emerge or move up from 154 pounds and make a statement at 160.

And we should consider one last thing: Alvarez could decide to fight Golovkin for a third time at 160 pounds. In that case, of course, they would decide Great Eight matters in the ring.

The others six fighters in our Great Eight seem to firmly ensconced at the moment but, as we know, things change quickly in boxing.

Stay tuned. And check out our Great Eight below.

 

HEAVYWEIGHT – Deontay Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs)

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT – Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs)

MIDDLEWEIGHT – Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs)

WELTERWEIGHT – Terence Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs)

LIGHTWEIGHT – Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs)

FEATHERWEIGHT – Gary Russell Jr. (30-1, 18 KOs)

BANTAMWEIGHT – Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs)

FLYWEIGHT – Kosei Tanaka (15-0, 9 KOs)

 

Tyson Fury won’t risk opening cut in training camp

Tyson Fury said he won’t risk opening the cut he suffered against Otto Wallin during training camp for his rematch with Deontay Wilder.

LOS ANGELES – The scar is evident above Tyson Fury’s right eye. For Deontay Wilder, it’s a target. For Fury, it’s a risk.

Fury, who needed 42 stitches for a cut suffered in a bloody decision over Otto Wallin on Sept. 14, said the possibility of rupturing the scar tissue is a risk not worth taking in training for his Feb. 22nd rematch against Wilder at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

“If I’m going to get cut, it’s going to be in the fight,’’ Fury said when Boxing Junkie asked him about the condition of the four-month-old wound.

Fury has been in camp, training in Las Vegas, for 10 days. He was asked how it felt the first time a punch landed on the scar while sparring.

Tyson Fury needed 42 stitches to close the cut he suffered against Otto Wallin in his last fight. AP Photo / Isaac Brekken

“I can’t risk it,’’ he said to another question posed by Boxing Junkie.

Wilder is expected to target the scar early in a bout scheduled for 12 rounds.

“If I open up that cut, it’s over,’’ said Wilder, who also said he believed that the Wallin fight would have been stopped because of the cut if not for the prospect of a rich rematch.

Great Eight: Boxing Junkie’s best fighters in each of original divisions

Boxing Junkie has established its Great Eight, in which we determine the best boxers in each of the original weight classes.

Who are the best boxers in each of the original eight weight classes? Check out Boxing Junkie’s new “Great Eight” feature.

***

Sadly, the proliferation of sanctioning body titles has diluted the value of once-precious championship belts.

If we accept that there are four major sanctioning organizations and allow each of them one “champion,” then we have 68 titleholders. That ridiculous number, which grows when the organizations add even more self-serving belts, drives boxing aficionados who want the best for the sport absolutely mad.

In effect, the sanctioning body titles mean next to nothing unless they’re unified. And even then, they’re value is often limited.

That’s why some of us look back longingly at a time when boxing had only eight divisions and one true champion in each of them. Everyone knew who the champions were and they had tremendous respect.

With that in mind, Boxing Junkie has decided to turn back the clock and establish its Great Eight, in which we determine the best boxers in each of the original weight classes – heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and flyweight.

To be clear, heavyweight includes cruiserweight, light heavyweight includes super middleweight, middleweight includes junior middleweight … all the way down to flyweight, which includes junior flyweight and strawweight.

Also, pound-for-pound has nothing to do with this. We believe the fighters selected in each division would defeat anyone else at that weight.

And, finally, this feature will be presented periodically.

Have a look:

HEAVYWEIGHT – Deontay Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs)

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT – Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs)

MIDDLEWEIGHT – Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs)

WELTERWEIGHT – Terence Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs)

LIGHTWEIGHT – Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs)

FEATHERWEIGHT – Gary Russell Jr. (30-1, 18 KOs)

BANTAMWEIGHT – Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs)

FLYWEIGHT – Kosei Tanaka (15-0, 9 KOs)

Wish for 2020: A safer year for our fighters

Boxing Junkie staff members hope the powers that be do what’s right for the fighters and do even more to enhance safety as much possible.

The Boxing Junkie staff members decided weeks ago to put together a boxing wish list – one wish each – for the coming year.

The obvious ideas came to mind first: rival managerial/promotional companies working together more than they have (still hoping!), a Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. showdown, more unified champions. That kind of thing.

Then staffer Norm Frauenheim sent over his wish for 2020.

The award-winning boxing scribe wrote: “A Wish For a Safer New Year:

“American Patrick Day, Bulgarian Boris Stanchov, Russian Maxim Dadashev and Argentine Hugo Alfredo Santillan. The bell tolls for them. They are all gone, dead from injuries suffered in 2019.

“As the year ends, remember them. As the new one begins, take their memory and use it to enhance safety in the ring.”

So much for our initial thoughts.

We at Boxing Junkie have tremendous admiration for anyone with the courage to step through the ropes and engage in combat. They risk their well being to pursue their dreams, feed their families and entertain us.

We don’t want to take them granted. As Frauenheim wrote, we hope the powers that be do what’s right for the fighters and enhance safety as much as humanly possible.

Rest in peace Patrick, Boris, Maxim and Hugo.