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Errol Spence Jr. Has Arrived

4/20/2016

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Errol Spence Jr. got the call and he answered, in an emphatic way. In his first step up in competition, Spence faced off against Chris Algieri in this past weekend’s PBC on NBC main event. Algieri is best known for his upset win over Ruslan Provodnikov to claim his first world title. Since then, he has been unable to follow up his success, going the distance with Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan in two spirited battles, losing decisively in both instances.

Since his pro-debut, Spence has raised a lot of eyebrows with impressive showings in the ring, even garnering accolades from former pound for pound King Floyd Mayweather Jr. A high touted prospect, a statement win would propel him to world title contention.

If there were any doubts about Spence, they were nearly all dispatched as he put on a clinic to beat down Algieri inside five rounds. Despite possessing good boxing acumen and the toughness to go with it, Algieri was overwhelmed by Spence’s abilities and power as the young fighter connected early with left hands and worked the body with punishing hooks. Algieri battled back, but lacking power, Spence calmly walked through everything thrown at him as he wore his opponent down.

In the fourth round, a straight left dropped Algieri for the first knockdown of the fight, leaving Algieri on unsteady legs but still managed to survive the round. Spence finished off the job in the fifth round after dropping the former champion two more times before the referee called off the bout. 

What’s next for Spence? A possible world title shot against one of the more established names in the division as he called out UK’s Kell Brook following the his biggest victory to date.

Along with Joseph Diaz Jr, Oscar Valdez, and Felix Verdejo, Errol Spence Jr. is regarded as on the finest prospects and a figure that has the potential to take over the sport of boxing. No matter where he goes from here, the Errol Spence Jr. era will take us on a quite a ride.

It’s GGG Week.

On Saturday, Gennady Golovkin is back in action as he defends his titles against Dominic Wade, Wade is seen as stepping stone for Golovkin who wishes to stay active for an eventual showdown with Canelo Alvarez. As, done in the previous two GGG cards, reigning pound for pound boxer Roman Gonzalez will open up the HBO broadcast when he fights challenger McWilliams Arroyo of Puerto Rico in what is an excellent matchup in the flyweight division.

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- René, @amongstfishes


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Pacquiao Again

4/15/2016

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The Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao show came to an end this past Saturday when he put on a vintage performance to outpoint Tim Bradley in their third and final encounter. Closing a brilliant career, Pacquiao knocked down and dominated Bradley en route to a one-sided decision.

A replay of the previous two fights, Pacquiao’s speed and power proved to be too much to handle for Bradley. The constant work rate and power punches were enough to edge almost every round for Pacquiao. Bradley, similar to past encounters, remained a tough opponent through every round, absorbing shots and delivering his own combinations in return.

When they boxed, Bradley found success but Pacquiao connected with more power shots, occasionally trapping the American fighter along the ropes. While exchanging on the inside, the Filipino’s superior firepower proved to be the difference maker.

A fine trainer, Teddy Atlas wasn’t able to bring anything new to the table on Bradley’s corner as his fighter was outgunned and outclassed for a third time versus the Pacman.

It was a reminder of everything that made the Filipino fighter such an exciting boxer. Beginning his career at 108 lbs., Pacman would go on to claim world titles in eight different divisions. Engaging in memorable wars versus the trio of Morales, Barrera, Marquez, beating on bigger opponents like Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Margarito, and Shane Mosley, scoring sensational knockouts against Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto. The impressive run will be hard to replicate and guarantees him a place in the boxing Hall of Fame.

Ramirez and Valdez on the Rise

The main undercard bouts lacked the action we expected, but nonetheless we witnessed two excellent performances from Gilberto Ramirez and Oscar Valdez.

Ramirez dominated and outpointed Arthur Abraham to become the first super middleweight champion of Mexican descent. Throughout the fight, Ramirez stayed busy, tagging Abraham with combinations and landing power shots to the body. Abraham didn’t mount any offense as he covered up behind a high guard, waiting for a chance to land his destructive right hand. Ramirez stuck to his game plan, boxing circles around Abraham, not giving him a chance to land a significant punch. With the win, Ramirez is now a first time title holder and the future looks promising in a competitive division.

Want to learn how to make a statement? You can ask Oscar Valdez who put on a show in his four round destruction of Evgeny Gradovich.  The former 2012 Olympian beat up Gradovich in every round, easily landing hard combinations upstairs while avoiding his opponent with good defensive skills. 

In the fourth, a left hook from Valdez sent Gradovich to the canvas.  Gradovich beat the count but after a careful look from the referee, the bout was waved off to avoid any further punishment to the Russian, who was already bloodied and bruised from the previous rounds. This announces Valdez’s arrival as a strong contender in the featherweight division and proves why he’s being anointed as a future star in the sport. 

- René, @amongstfishes

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Pacquiao's Last Stand

4/6/2016

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Since last year’s May 2nd bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao’s reputation and lust has taken quite a hit. Against Mayweather, his illustrious aura was diminished when he was handily defeated in a 12 round fight that ultimately proved to be the dud of the century.

Afterwards, Pacquiao still managed to remain relevant, but for all the wrong reasons. First, he came under fire after blaming his loss to Mayweather on an injured shoulder. An injury he hid from the public and was only revealed long after the match was done and both fighters had racked in record paydays. Just recently, he made headlines by making disparaging remarks to the LGBT community, losing sponsors and fan support as a result.

Now on Saturday April 9, Pacquiao is set to meet Tim Bradley
 in an uninteresting final rubber match that will be the Pacman’s farewell fight before he calls it a career. As we head into the final bout of his career, why should we care about it? Quite simply two points to consider.
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The Undercard is Stacked

Gilberto Ramirez-Arthur Abraham: Ramirez is a super middleweight contender aiming to become the first super middleweight champion of Mexican descent. Nicknamed Zurdo (lefty) for his southpaw stance, he meets his biggest challenge to date in Arthur Abraham. Having showed decent boxing skills and good KO power, he hopes to have his coming out party on a major event.

Abraham’s resume speaks for itself, a former middleweight champion; he moved up in weight to participate in the Super Six tournament, mixing it up with the likes of Andre Ward, Carl Froch, and Andre Dirrell and he’s been a tough challenge for anyone in the ring. His record boasts wins over Jermaine Taylor, Martin Murray, and, Edison Miranda
 only to name a few.

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Oscar Valdez-Evgeny Gradovich: Valdez is a highly touted prospect promoted by Top Rank. Anointed as one of the brightest stars to take over the sport, he makes his HBO PPV debut on Saturday, looking to make a statement against Gradovich in an excellent matchup.

Under the tutelage of Robert Garcia, Evgeny Gradvich fought his way to a world title with strong performances over Billy Dib. Unfortunately, He lost his title to the excellent Lee Selby when he travelled to London for his third defense. He’s back in the win column with his last two fights and is hungry to make another run at a world title.

A nice mesh of styles as Valdez is an excellent boxer having showcased good speed with decent power while Gradovich is an all-action, come forward fighter, having earned the nickname, Mexican-Russian. We can expect an action packed fight between Valdez and Gradovich.

End of an Era

Following Mayweather’s retirement, Pacquiao’s farewell fight signals the end of an era. Hate him or love him, Manny Pacquiao remains a once in a lifetime fighter and the impressive run through eight weight divisions will be hard to rival. Known for his charismatic persona and explosive performances in the ring, he became a global icon and will surely be a first ballot hall of famer when his time is up. 

For boxing’s sake, let’s enjoy the final stand of the man from General Santos City, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao.

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- René, @amongstfishes

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    René

    Marketing and social media enthusiast currently studying in the field of Public Relations, I'm fighter, writer, and blogger. I love sharing stories and news about the sport keep you up to date. Read about my views on what goes on in the unpredictable world of the sweet science.

    To read his blog, A Man Amongst Fishes, click here

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