Boxing : July 25

[H2O Man]

July 25:

NBC Sports: (9 pm/est) : Beibut Shumenow vs. B.J. Flores, 12 rounds, for vacant WBA intern cruiserweight title.

HBO: (10 pm/est) : Sergey Kovalev vs. Nadjib Mohammedi, 12 rounds, for Kovalev’s light heavyweight title.


There are two boxing cards on tonight, starting at 9 pm/est. Both cards are worth watching. The NBC bouts should be entertaining, though not of importance in terms of “big fights.” Although the fighters are currently second-tier, the bouts look to be competitive on paper. And that is really what the network fights are intended to be.

The HBO card is a must-see. Sergey Kovalev is one of the most impressive of the big punchers in the sport today. In defeating Bernard Hopkins to unify the titles, Kovelav demonstrated that he is more than a knockout artist. The boxing community had questioned if he would, like other young guns with impressive early knockouts, be able to handle going into the late rounds against an experienced, crafty opponent. He did not disappoint.

His opponent is a bit of an “unknown” to me. While I’ve read about him for some time, I haven’t seen any of his fights. He is on a 13-fight win streak, since his last loss in 2011. Most of his bouts were in France, although he has traveled (Russia, Great Britain, and the USA). While he has been willing to fight anyone in the division, and has competed against good fighters, this is certainly a big step up for him. He has been TKOed in two of his three loses, in 1 and 2 rounds. Hence, there is a real danger for him in the early rounds.

Enjoy the fights!

[Lulu Belle]

1. How do you think that the

Vlad vs Tyson Fury fight will go?
I think Fury is going to get crushed.
Not in Vlad's class.
Slow, clumsy, and out of shape looking.

[H2O Man]

3. Klitschko has to be favored,

and by a significant amount. His punching power is enough to make it likely that he will end the bout before the final bell rings.

However, aging fighters often have cycles within two-to-three fights. It's almost impossible for an older fighter to be at the top of his game every time he enters the ring. Add that Fury is a large man, and has some power himself. It could be an interesting fight.

But I'd pick the champ in 8 rounds.

[KamaAina]

2. Another bogus decision on the Kovalev undercard

(I'm at Republican Stepdad's place in NJ, and so get HBO )

A Cuban named Gonzalez got stone-cold robbed in favor of the known quantity Jean Pascal. Consolation: Pascal will move on to face Kovalev, and based on what I saw in both fights last night, get his clock cleaned.

At least the HBO analyst (the young guy with the beard) was all over it just like Teddy would have been.

[H2O Man]

4. Pascal was TKOed

by Kovalev in 8 rounds in March. I do not think that he has improved. But Kovalev appears to be entering his prime. Pascal can try running more, but he tends to tire relatively quickly in high-pressure fights. It's not good to be tired against Kovalev!

[H2O Man]

5. PS:

Gonzalez obviously won the fight. No question at all.