Boxing! (June 4, 2011)

[H2O Man]

June 4
At Los Angeles (HBO): Sebastian Zbik vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 12 rounds, for Zbik's WBC middleweight title.

At Copenhagen, Denmark (Showtime, same-day tape): Mikkel Kessler vs. Mehdi Bouadla, 10 rounds, super middleweights

At Atlantic City, N.J. (Showtime): Super Six World Boxing Classic semifinals, Carl Froch vs. Glen Johnson, 12 rounds, for Froch's WBC super middleweight title

There are two fights on Showtime (9 pm/est), and one on HBO (10 pm/est) tonight. One of the three promises to be among the best fights of the year. Let's take a look at each of them.

We all know that Sebastian Zbik is not the real middleweight champion. Sergio Martinez is. But the WBC is looking to make some money by sanctioning title fights, and because they have no control over the champion, they create a new one. Tonight, he defends his title against the son of one of the legendary champions of the sport.

As Teddy Atlas said on ESPN's Friday Night Fights yesterday, at this point, both fighters' managers deserve more credit and recognition than the two boxers – because they have guided their careers on very soft competition. Atlas, like myself and anyone who has boxed, has respect for any man who gets into the ring to fight. But it is not accurate to call either Zbik or Chavez a “top contender,” much less a middleweight champion. I note that The Ring does not even rate Chavez in the division.

The Showtime card features two super middleweight fights, including one of the “Super Six” tournament semi-finals. It opens with Mikkel Kessler, a former champion who dropped out of the tournament due to an injury, taking a soft tune-up fight. After knocking Bouadla out, he is going to challenge Lucian Bute for his title. (Bute opted not to enter the “Super Six,” although he has recently – and inaccurately – claimed he wasn't invited to compete in it.)

Bouadla, of France, has a 22-3 record, with 10 knockout victories. He hasn't lost since 2009, in part because he fights weak opponents. His last bout was against a fighter with a 5-10 record, who has since had five more fights without a victory.

Kessler, 43-2, has fought against the best in the world, losing only to Joe Calzaghe and Andre Ward. In his last fight, Kessler won a close decision over Carl Frock. I think Kessler has the ability to beat Bute; however, when fighting in Canada, he needs to knock Bute out to “win” (one opponent did just that, but had the pro-Bute referee refuse to acknowledge it, and give Bute the decision!).

The Showtime main event is going to be an outstanding bout. England's Carl “The Cobra” Frock is becoming recognized as one of the best fighters to come out of Britain. His 27-1 record includes 20 knockouts, including one of Jermain Taylor. He also has victories over Brian Magee, Robin Reid, former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (who just lost to Bernard Hopkins), Andre Dirrell, and Arthur Abraham.

Frock is not “stylish” in the ring. He brawls. He has total confidence in his ability to take a punch, and to over-power any opponent. In technical terms, his fights are always ugly. But never boring. Add to this the fact he has a charming, witty personality, and you have one of the more attractive characters in the sport. It's both hard to bet against him, or to cheer against the guy.

Frock is meeting a true legend in the ring, Glen “Road Warrior” Johnson. He turned professional in 1993, and has a record of 51-14-2. He has 35 KO victories, and was only TKOed in 1997, in the 11th round, when challenging Bernard Hopkins for the middleweight title.

He is indeed a “Road Warrior,” and most of his loses came when he traveled the globe, literally fighting the top guys in their home towns. He knocked Roy Jones, Jr., out in nine rounds, and beat Antonio Tarver. Besides being the light heavyweight champion, Glen has literally fought almost every top fighter in the middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight division, at some time or another.

He was 41 when the opportunity to drop down a division, and compete in the “Super Six” came his way. Last November, he TKOed tough Alan Green in 8 rounds, to make it into the semi-finals. Now 42, it seems that age will start catching up to him soon. Yet, perhaps more so than B-Hop, Glen might be the Archie Moore of our generation. Granted, B-Hop has the Old Mongoose's “bag of tricks.” But Glen more closely resembles the aging Moore, himself a “road warrior” for much of his career (1938-'63).

Glen constantly moves forward, usually shuffling, bobbing-and-weaving, and throwing a high volume of punches. His defensive skills are deceptive: one must take punishment in order to deliver any, and Johnson is difficult to hit with consecutive punches. Also, although he is a true gentleman outside the ring, Glen will: use his head on the inside; connect with his elbows; use his forearms; land shots below the belt; and punch behind the head – as needed.

I think that this is definitely going to be one of the best fights of 2011. It may be the most “fan friendly” bout in the “Super Six.” And the winner will be meeting the undefeated, true Super Middleweight Champion, Andre Ward, in the fall.

Frock is correctly favored to win, based largely upon his age. It becomes progressively more difficult to cut weight as one ages (shocking news to anyone reading this, who is over 40). But I'd put the odds at 51-49. What I think is interesting is that they are both among what would have to be considered the most frustrating styles to fight – Frock's wild-man, street-brawling approach, versus Johnson's non-stop pressure.

If possible, watch this fight. And when it's over, let me know what you think.

[JonLP24]

1. I was wondering where I saw the name Julio Ceasar Chavez

Then I remembered the name is on a very affordable energy drink. Normally energy drinks are expensive, like $2 for one but his, I think it is 2 for $3 or something like that. Filibertos also sells them and heavily advertises them.

I thought it might be his drink so I looked him up and sure enough it is him. More surprising the drink is made right here in Mesa where I live. S. Country Club Dr which isn't too far from me. Could be why it is so affordable.

Anyways, great review and I hope you enjoy the fights.

On edit-Actually it is his dad's energy drink. Forgot to add the Jr in my search.