Tag: Fighter of the Month

Fighter of the Month: Tim Tszyu gave another dominating performance

Fighter of the Month: Tim Tszyu gave another dominating performance against Brian Mendoza in Australia.

Tim Tszyu demonstrated in his strongest terms yet on Oct. 15 that he’s not just the son a famous fighter.

The offspring of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu methodically dismantled a solid opponent in Brian Mendoza over 12 rounds to retain his newly awarded 154-pound title in his native Australia, making him an obvious choice as Boxing Junkie’s Fighter of the Month for October.

Tszyu (24-0, 17 K0s) doesn’t do any specific thing extraordinarily well but his lack of an obvious weakness makes him an extraordinary fighter.

Mendoza (22-3, 16 KOs) was a problem in the first half of his meeting with Tszyu, during which the hard-punching American – coming off sensational knockouts of Jeison Rosario and Sebastian Fundora – arguably outworked the champion.

However, Tszyu took firm control from the seventh round on. He fiercely played the role of the power puncher, landing heavy blow after heavy blow — including a number of punishing uppercuts — to pull away from Mendoza on the scorecards.

Mendoza demonstrated impressive resilience – a lesser opponent wouldn’t have survived – but he had neither the skill set nor the firepower to withstand Tszyu’s punishing attack.

According to CompuBox, Tszyu outlanded Mendoza 120 (of 406) to 93 (of 433) overall and 98 (of 258) to 71 (of 225) in power punches.

Tszyu has now beaten in succession Terrell Gausha, Tony Harrison, Carlos Ocampo and Brian Mendoza, a run that has lifted him to the top of the junior middleweight division.

However, he told many outlets before the Mendoza fight that he won’t be satisfied until he beats the longtime 154-pound king: Jermell Charlo, who chose to fight Canelo Alvarez instead of Tszyu and lost a one-sided decision on Sept. 30.

Charlo said after his setback that he planned to back down to 154, which could set up one of the most-compelling matchups in the sport.

“Charlo, where you at?” Tszyu said after his victory. “Where you at buddy? In his delusional head, he’ll probably think he is going to beat me. Come get it.”

Charlo might not like what he gets if that fight happens.

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Fighter of the Month: Tim Tszyu gave another dominating performance

Fighter of the Month: Tim Tszyu gave another dominating performance against Brian Mendoza in Australia.

Tim Tszyu demonstrated in his strongest terms yet on Oct. 15 that he’s not just the son a famous fighter.

The offspring of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu methodically dismantled a solid opponent in Brian Mendoza over 12 rounds to retain his newly awarded 154-pound title in his native Australia, making him an obvious choice as Boxing Junkie’s Fighter of the Month for October.

Tszyu (24-0, 17 K0s) doesn’t do any specific thing extraordinarily well but his lack of an obvious weakness makes him an extraordinary fighter.

Mendoza (22-3, 16 KOs) was a problem in the first half of his meeting with Tszyu, during which the hard-punching American – coming off sensational knockouts of Jeison Rosario and Sebastian Fundora – arguably outworked the champion.

However, Tszyu took firm control from the seventh round on. He fiercely played the role of the power puncher, landing heavy blow after heavy blow — including a number of punishing uppercuts — to pull away from Mendoza on the scorecards.

Mendoza demonstrated impressive resilience – a lesser opponent wouldn’t have survived – but he had neither the skill set nor the firepower to withstand Tszyu’s punishing attack.

According to CompuBox, Tszyu outlanded Mendoza 120 (of 406) to 93 (of 433) overall and 98 (of 258) to 71 (of 225) in power punches.

Tszyu has now beaten in succession Terrell Gausha, Tony Harrison, Carlos Ocampo and Brian Mendoza, a run that has lifted him to the top of the junior middleweight division.

However, he told many outlets before the Mendoza fight that he won’t be satisfied until he beats the longtime 154-pound king: Jermell Charlo, who chose to fight Canelo Alvarez instead of Tszyu and lost a one-sided decision on Sept. 30.

Charlo said after his setback that he planned to back down to 154, which could set up one of the most-compelling matchups in the sport.

“Charlo, where you at?” Tszyu said after his victory. “Where you at buddy? In his delusional head, he’ll probably think he is going to beat me. Come get it.”

Charlo might not like what he gets if that fight happens.

[lawrence-related id=39372,39356]

Fighter of the Month: Gervonta Davis continues to dominate

Fighter of the Month: Gervonta Davis gave another dominating performance when he stopped Hector Luis Garcia last month.

Hector Luis Garcia was one of the hottest fighters in the world going into his fight with Gervonta Davis on Jan. 7 in Washington, D.C.

The Dominican stunned the boxing world by outpointing then-unbeaten Chris Colbert in February of last year and then did the same against Roger Gutierrez to win a 130-pound title in August.

He was a Fighter of the Year candidate. And then the gifted Davis put him in his place.

“Tank” outboxed Garcia, broke him down with an increasing number of punishing blows to the head and body and then forced him to quit on stool after eight rounds of the scheduled 12-round 135-pound fight near Davis’ hometown of Baltimore.

As they say, there are levels to boxing. Garcia fights at a high level, Davis somewhere in the stratosphere.

The victory was particularly important because it sets up an anticipated showdown with fellow social media star and gifted fighter Ryan Garcia on April 15 in Las Vegas, although the deal hasn’t been finalized.

Ryan Garcia should be Davis’ most difficult opponent to date. However, Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) is already favored to win the 136-pound catch-weight bout because of performances like his dominating victory over Hector Garcia.

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Fighter of the Month: Gervonta Davis continues to dominate

Fighter of the Month: Gervonta Davis gave another dominating performance when he stopped Hector Luis Garcia last month.

Hector Luis Garcia was one of the hottest fighters in the world going into his fight with Gervonta Davis on Jan. 7 in Washington, D.C.

The Dominican stunned the boxing world by outpointing then-unbeaten Chris Colbert in February of last year and then did the same against Roger Gutierrez to win a 130-pound title in August.

He was a Fighter of the Year candidate. And then the gifted Davis put him in his place.

“Tank” outboxed Garcia, broke him down with an increasing number of punishing blows to the head and body and then forced him to quit on stool after eight rounds of the scheduled 12-round 135-pound fight near Davis’ hometown of Baltimore.

As they say, there are levels to boxing. Garcia fights at a high level, Davis somewhere in the stratosphere.

The victory was particularly important because it sets up an anticipated showdown with fellow social media star and gifted fighter Ryan Garcia on April 15 in Las Vegas, although the deal hasn’t been finalized.

Ryan Garcia should be Davis’ most difficult opponent to date. However, Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) is already favored to win the 136-pound catch-weight bout because of performances like his dominating victory over Hector Garcia.

[lawrence-related id=35109,35096,35067]

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Fighter of the Month: The great Oleksandr Usyk. Who else?

Fighter of the Month: The great Oleksandr Usyk. Who else?

Editor’s note: The is the first installment of Boxing Junkie’s new feature “Fighter of the Month.

Boxing Junkie’s first Fighter of the Month selection couldn’t have been more obvious.

Heavyweight titleholder Oleksandr Usyk gave a virtuoso performance in his rematch with former champion Anthony Joshua on Aug. 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, winning a split decision that most believe should’ve been unanimous.

The scores were 116-112, 115-113 and 113-115.

The fight was close for nine rounds, as Joshua, who had lost a decision and his belts to Usyk last September, fought with more urgency the second time around.

The Englishman was actually leading on two of the three scorecards after nine rounds.

However, Usyk, who Joshua trainer Robert Garcia said afterward was mentally stronger down the stretch, took charge in the final three rounds to have his hand raised, underscore his greatness and bolster the spirits of his besieged countrymen.

Usyk won the three final rounds on the two cards that favored him, which sealed his victory. The third judge had Usyk winning two of the last three rounds.

The former undisputed cruiserweight champion is approaching legend status, having ruled one division and twice beating a significantly bigger rival who once seemed destined for greatness.

However, his biggest challenge might lie ahead. His victory appears to set up a showdown with fellow beltholder Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship, in which he already is at least a 2-1 underdog according to outlets that have posted odds.

If that fight happens and Usyk can pull off a victory, people will start tossing around the term ”all-time great.” And they might be justified.

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Fighter of the Month: The great Oleksandr Usyk. Who else?

Fighter of the Month: The great Oleksandr Usyk. Who else?

Editor’s note: The is the first installment of Boxing Junkie’s new feature “Fighter of the Month.

Boxing Junkie’s first Fighter of the Month selection couldn’t have been more obvious.

Heavyweight titleholder Oleksandr Usyk gave a virtuoso performance in his rematch with former champion Anthony Joshua on Aug. 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, winning a split decision that most believe should’ve been unanimous.

The scores were 116-112, 115-113 and 113-115.

The fight was close for nine rounds, as Joshua, who had lost a decision and his belts to Usyk last September, fought with more urgency the second time around.

The Englishman was actually leading on two of the three scorecards after nine rounds.

However, Usyk, who Joshua trainer Robert Garcia said afterward was mentally stronger down the stretch, took charge in the final three rounds to have his hand raised, underscore his greatness and bolster the spirits of his besieged countrymen.

Usyk won the three final rounds on the two cards that favored him, which sealed his victory. The third judge had Usyk winning two of the last three rounds.

The former undisputed cruiserweight champion is approaching legend status, having ruled one division and twice beating a significantly bigger rival who once seemed destined for greatness.

However, his biggest challenge might lie ahead. His victory appears to set up a showdown with fellow beltholder Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship, in which he already is at least a 2-1 underdog according to outlets that have posted odds.

If that fight happens and Usyk can pull off a victory, people will start tossing around the term ”all-time great.” And they might be justified.

[lawrence-related id=32329,32265,32257,32254,32240,32205,32157]

[vertical-gallery id=32170]