Straight Left Hand

The Five Hardest Punchers in Boxing Today

2009-04-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

Recently, Randall Bailey knocked out Frankie Figueroa in a brutal display of power on Friday Night Fights. It got me to wondering..........just who are the hardest punchers in the game today?

Some of the things I considered were percentage of wins by knockout, number of knockouts, and of course my own personal opinion.

After much thought and in no particular order, here is my list.

1. Vic Darchinyan (32-1, 26 ko's)
If you have seen Vic fight, you know he is a heavy handed puncher. He possesses power in both hands, and swings with full power every shot. He has shown power against top competition, knocking out Cristian Mijares in their title fight.

2. Wladimir Klitschko(52-3, 46 ko's)
Dr. Steelhammer makes the list because of his high knockout percentage. I personally believe Klitschko can knockout any fighter in the heavyweight division at any time, his brother not included. His straight right hand is precise and extremely powerful. He has shown a good left hook in recent fights, which only adds to his arsenal.

3. Edwin Valero (25-0, 25 ko's)
Ok so he hasn't done it against top competition yet. That fact notwithstanding, he has won all his fights by ko, and won his first 18 by first round ko. He has many defensive flaws, such as lifting his head in the air when he punches, and pulling straight back. These flaws may prevent him from becoming the Ring Magazine Champion at lightweight some day, but not from making this list.

4. Randall Bailey (38-6, 34 ko's)
Randall made this list because of his most recent fight. That was quite simply one of the most devastating straight right hands I've seen in a long time. Bailey won his first 21 fights by ko, and although he has been a fringe contender at welterweight, he may be poised for one more run.

5. Kelly Pavlik ( 34-1, 30 ko's)
He may not have the fastest hands in boxing, but he is heavy handed. He wears opponents down and breaks their will with his punches. His power has carried over as he faced top competion, as seen in his knockout of Jermain Taylor.

guys that didn't quite make the list: Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto

Five Things I Learned From Affliction: Day Of Reckoning

2009-01-25T02:26:00.000-08:00

Affliction's second PPV is in the history books, and it was a nice follow up to their first outing. The fights were entertaining, The visuals were better, and they have Fedor. Enough said. On that note, here are five things I learned watching Affliction: Day of Reckoning.

1) There is no such thing as a "Baby Fedor".

I don't want to say that Sidelnikov was defeated because of his nickname, but he was defeated because of his nickname. Whose bright idea was it to call this guy "Baby Fedor" anyway? Just because Fedor trains him and he has the same hands down stance doesn't mean he is Fedor.

Fedor is Fedor. There is no comparing anyone to him or calling anyone the next Fedor.

2) Tito has found his calling after fighting.

If Tito wants to stop fighting now, he has my blessing. I thought he did a nice job as a color commentator. I think with time and more training, he could be even better. He has been around MMA as long as anyone in the game, and has never seen a microphone that wasn't calling to him.

His interviewing skills need a little work, but that can definitely be improved upon with time. This was the first time since Pride closed I wasn't really irritated by a non UFC announcing crew. The lone exception would be that Scott Ferrall guy. He was absolutely horrible.

3) The novelty with Sokoudjou has worn off.

I don't care if he knocked out Arona and Little Nog in Pride. I don't care that he used to wear that cool Predator mask. I don't care that he trains with team Qwest.

If he can't knock you out in the first minute or so in the fight then he loses. He has now lost three out of his last four. I don't want to see him on any fight card I paid money for until he gets some wins.

4) Josh Barnett is not the man to beat Fedor.

Josh Barnett is good. In fact, he is very good. He is easily one of the top five heavyweights in the world. He has decent enough standup, good wrestling, and excellent jiu jitsu. What he doesn't have, in my opinion, is what it takes to beat Fedor.

I think Fedor is better standing, and better on the ground. Barnett is significantly bigger than Fedor, if that matters any. Maybe he can find a way to stay on top of Fedor and use that weight somehow to wear him down? Or maybe he gets knocked out or choked out like everyone else.

5) One mistake against Fedor is one too many.

Watching the first minute of this fight you got the feeling an upset was brewing. Ok, maybe you didn't, but I surely did. Arlovski was showing the full arsenal of standup in this one. Great low kicks, body punching, jabs, straights and a pretty solid front kick.

What he did next defies all logic. He went for a flying knee. I repeat a flying knee. Against Fedor. A flying knee. Where in any gameplan for beating Fedor is a flying knee included? If your answer was nowhere you would be correct.

You simply do not leave your feet against Fedor. You do not get careless against Fedor. In fact, if you get him hurt you do not even pounce on him, you stay composed and stick to your gameplan.

I cannot believe no one told Arlovski in his entire training camp that he should expect to get the better of Fedor in the standup. He should have expected early success. He should have been told to maintain his composure, keep the fight standing, keep his defense tight, and not to try anything risky or stupid. The flying knee shouldn't have been in the gameplan. It couldn't have been. I refuse to believe it.

I am gonna go to sleep tonight and tell myself that Arlovski temporarily got excited, thought he had Fedor hurt, and forgot that it was Fedor for just a second. That second was all it took to send Arlovski on to a new sport.

The only good thing Arlovski can take away from this fight is knowing that when and if he can secure a bout with one of the Klitschko brothers, flying knees will not be allowed.

Five Reasons Shane Mosley Knocked Out Antonio Margarito

2009-01-25T01:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, can someone please hand me a towel so I can wipe the egg off my face. Shame on us all for discrediting a true warrior and most likely first ballot hall of famer in Shane Mosley. With that said, here are five reasons that Mosley was able to shock the boxing world and knock out Antonio Margarito.

1) Speed Kills

It is one of the oldest saying in boxing. Better yet it is one of the oldest sayings in pro sports. Simply put, speed kills. You can't gameplan for speed, you can't train for it.

I'm sure Margarito brought in many sparring partners with quick hands and movement. Problem is, there is no way to exactly replicate Mosley's speed.

There was no way for Margarito to know how fast Shane would be until the fight began. Shane was able to beat Margarito to the punch early and often, and this was a key to this fight.

2) Miguel Cotto

Shane Mosley should send a fruit basket or something to Miguel Cotto. Over the first six rounds of his fight with Margarito, Cotto showed you both how to beat Margarito and how not to beat Margarito.

The how-get off first, jab, punch in combination, stay on your toes. The how not-lay on the ropes, move straight back, let Margarito answer your combinations. Try to knock Margarito out.

3) Nazim Richardson

This point almost led to me picking Shane to win this fight. Almost.

If you haven't heard of Richardson, he is the trainer who led Bernard Hopkins to his near shutout and complete undressing of Kelly Pavlik last year. This guy has come out of nowhere to become easily one of the best trainers in all of the sport.

He is a masterful tactician, and his advice in between rounds was as good as anything I have ever heard a trainer give to his fighter. He devised a wonderful gameplan for Shane to follow, and it was executed to near flawlessness.

4) Everything in boxing starts with the jab

Another one of the oldest sayings in boxing. Say it with me. Everything in boxing starts with the jab. Now not only did Shane use his jab like he hasn't in years, he correctly shot it to Margarito's chest, and not his head. It would have been harder to reach the taller man with an up jab, rather than shoot it straight into his chest.

The combination that Mosley threw all night was textbook, and he couldn't miss with it. Double jab to the chest, left/right to the body, finish with overhand right and hold. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Mosley threw this combination so many times I started calling it out as he was doing it.

5) Mosley's chin

After Shane won the first six rounds I began to think that Margarito's camp might as well throw in the towel. Shane was beating Margarito from post to pillar, and hitting him at will. Margarito is not a one punch knockout artist, and Mosley has never been knocked out. I didn't imagine that Shane would get the knockout, but I did figure he was gonna give Antonio a frightful beating down the stretch.

One of the key reasons why Mosley was able to improve on the first six rounds of success that Cotto had against Margarito was his ability to take a punch. We all figured there was no way Shane could knock out the "Tijuana Tornado". Turns out we should have been thinking there was no way Margarito could knock out Shane Mosley.

Random Thoughts

I really didn't think Mosley would use Hopkin's strategy of holding after getting off. I just didn't think it was in his mentality as a fighter. Turns out I was wrong. Not only did he use Hopkin's strategy, he used it to get the knockout rather than ride out a decision.

Thing was, you could always hit Margarito. He would take five to land one or two. Hopkins showed Mosley that Margarito can't answer if he immediately tied him up after landing.

Mosley actually looked stronger on the inside. He grappled with Margarito and actually shoved him around the ring on several occasions.

Did anyone else notice Mosley buckle Margarito with those body shots in the FIRST ROUND? I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought, yeah ok, Margarito is gonna come on strong later. Richardson said it best, however, with this quote to Shane in between rounds. "He is gonna hit the gas pedal later on the fight, and there ain't gonna be no gas in the tank".

What was the deal with that illegal substance that Margarito was caught with in his handwraps? Could that have been the key to his previous successes? Is that why he beat Cotto? I smell a built in reason to make the rematch with Cotto more interesting this time around.

That was about as frightful a beating I have seen issued by a four to one underdog. I am trying to remember a fight this one sided when a guy came in that big an underdog. Shows what we know. Everyone figured Margarito was some sort of terminator after his come from behind knockout over Cotto. Turns out even terminators can be shut down and short circuited.

UFC 93: Five Things I learned

2009-01-20T00:07:00.001-08:00

I already posted a recap, complete with my random thoughts section and my fantasy results from UFC fantasy. Today for some reason I just had some more things to get off my chest. So without further ado, here are the five things I learned while watching UFC 93: Extreme Ireland.

1) Jeremy Horn hates being called Gumby.
OK so if you didn't know this, Joe Rogan informed us all that Horn hates his nickname, and had one of his friends text Rogan to tell him not to call him Gumby, which Goldberg did anyways. Good job Goldberg.

Why was Horn talking to the announcers anyways? I thought the unwritten rule about talking to the announcers was you had to be WINNING the fight in extremely dominant fashion, and then you could further this point by chatting up the announcers. Roy Jones used to do this in his prime, and Floyd Mayweather as well.

Or maybe in Horn's case, if you are losing the fight in extremely dominant fashion, then maybe you can talk to the announcers to let them know you are aware you have no chance at all to pull out the win.

2) Mark Coleman now has the old man muscles.
We have all seen these muscles before. Sylvester Stallone comes to mind, the Governator pops into my head. Chuck Norris, wait, not Chuck Norris. Chuck's muscles are scared to get old for fear he might Roundhouse kick them.

These type of muscles tend to make the old guys look good, but they don't work so great as the younger version of said muscles. The skin also tends to drag a bit. They seem to tire a bit quicker as well. I know Coleman looked like he might kill you, but about two minutes into the fight he looked like he was gonna go into cardiac arrest.

3) Shogun must be henceforth referred to as Mauricio Rua
I looked up the definition to Shogun, and it is another word for a General or Commander of an army in Japanese. No way does Mauricio deserve to be called anything remotely as cool as Shogun, especially after the way he looked Saturday against a 44 year old man with old man muscles to boot. I don't care what the reason was, the layoff, injuries, he got off steroids, etc., he must now be referred to by the UFC and all fans and writers by his given name.

4) Marcus Davis knows more combinations than they teach at my school
Ok so I know all my 1-8 counts for my boxing. I can mix it up a bit in sparring. I don't just throw 1-2-3 every time. Sometimes I go 3-2-3 or 1-2-1. That's about all I can remember when somebody is actually trying to punch me in the face as well. My instructor actually has to remind me that I can kick as well most of the time.

With that said, I want to go and train with Marcus Davis. I've heard Rogan rant on and on about how guys need to vary up their striking so it doesn't become predictable. He must have had Davis in mind when he said that. Davis led with jabs, looping overhand lefts, front kicks, body kicks, knees, just about anything you could think of. He had Lytle totally confused and wondering what he would throw next. About as varied a display of striking as I can remember. It was like watching an instructional DVD on how to switch up your attack.

5) Dan Henderson is forgetting to fill up the gas tank before fights
Maybe he is not training correctly. Maybe it's his age. Maybe it's the going up and down in weight for fights. Whatever the reason is, Henderson is hitting the wall in fights. When he fought Silva, he won the opening stanza but ran out of gas and got choked out in the second. Against Franklin he was dead tired in the third and it showed. If that were a five round fight he might have kissed the canvas.

Whatever the reason is, it seems if you can push the pace, that is the key to beating Dan Henderson.

The ADD Recap: UFC 93, Dan Henderson Defeats Rich Franklin

2009-01-18T01:11:00.000-08:00

In a night Co-headlined by MMA legends, Dan Henderson and Mauricio "Shogun Rua both came out victorious in hard fought battles.

Random Thoughts

Franklin/Henderson played out exactly as expected. Franklin got the better of the striking, Henderson got him to the ground and held him there. Henderson was visibly tired in that last round though, and with more time, Franklin might have been able to pull out a W.

I can't remember a time when I saw a fighter look worse in a knockout win than Shogun did. He looked like he was 44 right along with Coleman. I mean Coleman was The Walking Dead after the first couple minutes of round one, yet Shogun couldn't get rid of him. I kept waiting for someone to distract the ref and throw a chair over cageside so he could hit him in the head with it and pin him.

I'm trying to think of the guys at 205 that Shogun can beat coming off this performance, but I'm not really coming up with anybody. He looked about as slow as anything I've ever seen in the Octagon, and it was Mark Coleman he was fighting.

Jeremy Horn has never been an impressive fighter to watch, but boy is he tough. Even though he got shut out tonight, his toughness earned a fan for life in me. Too bad I probably won't get to see him on TV ever again.

Denis Kang is just the latest victim to the Octagon jitters. Came out guns a blazing and looked terrific. Great striking, great wrestling, great jiu jitsu. Only problem was, someone forgot to fill his gas tank all the way up for this fight. He was so tired it looked like he tapped BEFORE he got choked out with that guillotine. I'm gonna chalk that one up to nerves.

Marcus Davis showed us tonight exactly what your striking coach is talking about when he says mix up your combinations. He led with body kicks, jabs, looping overhand lefts, and displayed great movement and combination punching. He never let Lytle know what was coming, and kept him off balance for much of the fight. That was about as good as I've seen from MMA in the striking department.

Fantasy Results

For the first time I cracked the top 100 in the UFC Fantasy picks. I have usually hovered around the low 100's, guess I'm getting a little better at this. See my results below.

Welcome traydawg23

UFC® 93 FRANKLIN vs HENDERSON
Jan-17-2009

Final tallies on event results and points awarded are not final and official until two hours after the event has ended. It takes a bit for our systems to update every player's game activity, and we follow up with a "human" check for accuracy.

Point Score:	154
Your Ranking:	92 out of 20289

YOUR FIGHT CARD RESULTS:	= Correct Answer, = Incorrect Answer, = Bonus Points Awarded

YOUR FIGHT CARD RESULTS:

= Correct Answer, = Incorrect Answer, = Bonus Points Awarded

Fight Card	Your Choices	Winning Method	Round	Minute	Point(s)
Rich Franklin Vs Dan Henderson	Dan Henderson	Majority Decision	3	5	21
Mark Coleman Vs Mauricio Rua	Mauricio Rua	Submission (Choke)	2	2	15
Alan Belcher Vs Denis Kang	Denis Kang	Technical Knock Out	3	2	0
Jeremy Horn Vs Rousimar Palhares	Rousimar Palhares	Submission (Choke)	2	2	15
Marcus Davis Vs Chris Lytle	Marcus Davis	Technical Knock Out	2	2	15
Martin Kampmann Vs Alexandre Barros	Martin Kampmann	Unanimous Decision	3	5	15
Eric Schafer Vs Antonio Mendes	Eric Schafer	Submission (Choke)	2	2	15
Tomasz Drwal Vs Ivan Serati	Tomasz Drwal	Technical Knock Out	2	3	15
Tom Egan Vs John Hathaway	John Hathaway	Technical Knock Out	1	3	27
Dennis Siver Vs Nate Mohr	Dennis Siver	Submission (Choke)	2	3	16
POINT SCORE:					154

OFFICIAL EVENT RESULTS:

Final Results

Dan Henderson def. Rich Franklin via split decision
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua def. Mark Coleman via TKO (strikes) -- Round 3
Rousimar Palhares def. Jeremy Horn via unanimous decision
Alan Belcher def. Denis Kang via submission (guillotine choke) -- Round 2
Marcus Davis def. Chris Lytle via split decision
John Hathway def. Tom Egan via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1
Martin Kampmann def. Alexandre Barros via TKO (strikes) -- Round 2
Eric Schafer def. Antonio Mendes via TKO (punches) -- Round 1
Thomasz Drwal def. Ivan Serati via TKO (punches) -- Round 1
Dennis Siver def. Nate Mohr via TKO (strikes) -- Round 3

UFC 93, Affliction:Day Of Reckoning, UFC 94-Buy or Not?

2009-01-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

January kicks off the MMA world with three Major PPV events. With the economy as well as wallets tightening, are these guys really expecting us to drop $150 on PPV this month?

UFC 93

This card is better than a fight night card, but not good enough for PPV, in my opinion. This is one of those cards that makes me wish that HBO deal had gone thru. This is a perfect HBO card.

On to the fights the Main event features Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin. I call this one the battle that should have taken place a few years ago. Good Matchup of two technically sound fighters that has decision written all over it.

The most interesting fight has to be Shogun vs Mark Coleman. One has to wonder what Coleman has left, especially at his age and this weight. Funny thing is, One also has to wonder what Shogun has left after numerous injuries and surgeries. I'm picking he who has the most left to win. I think that man is Shogun.

Denis Kang finally debuts in the UFC, and its about time. I just hope he doesn't get knocked out by Alan Belcher, which could mean hello and goodbye for him in the Octagon.

My recommendation for this card: go to the nearest hooters, get a good table, order a pitcher of your favorite beer, and avoid the hot wings because you'll pay for them later.

Affliction: Day of Reckoning

Fedor Vs. Arlovski. You gotta see this if your an MMA fan. This is a battle of two of the top heavyweights in the world. Forget WAMMA and their ridiculous title, or scepter, or championship ring, or whatever cracker jack prize they are giving out. Fedor is the man until he loses, and I'll be watching until he does.

If this fight were a boxing match, I would be picking Arlovski hands down. He is training with Freddie Roach, the man I believe to be the best trainer in the sport of boxing, hands down. However with the smaller MMA gloves, it only takes one shot to turn out the lights. Fedor has such power, and a better ground game. Give me Fedor by decision, knockout, submission, or TKO. I think that covers it.

Josh Barnett, another top heavyweight, is on this card as well. I really want to see this guy come back to the UFC, whenever Affliction folds that is. I have no idea what Yvel has left, but I suspect I'll find out Jan 24.

Last but not least Tito Ortiz will be announcing for this card, and I for one, think he is a pretty good commentator. I remember his work on a UFC card back before Dana excommunicated him. That makes it worth my money just to hear him talk trash about Babalu, who wants Tito in a bad way.

My recommendations for this one, Buy it if you are a true MMA connoisseur, and appreciate the finer things in life, like Fedor.

UFC 94

Georges St. Pierre vs BJ Penn II. You gotta love this matchup. This one has great fight written all over it. I like GSP to win by taking Penn down and holding him there and doing enough to win a decision, but I'm hoping for some fireworks in the standup.

We all have been chosen to suffer through yet another Machida fight. I just hope Silva brings the fight to him like I suspect he might, and somebody gets knocked out. I really don't want to have to hear Rogan go on and on about Machida being "elusive". Just writing that makes me want to puke.

Karo Parisyan is back. This fight should let us know if he is going to be a gatekeeper for the remainder of his career, or if he plans on making a serious run for a title shot. One thing is for sure, expect to see a judo toss at some point in this fight.

Nate Diaz takes on the tough as they come Clay Guida, and this should be a good little scrap. Hard to predict a winner there, as Guida has good standup and wrestling, but Diaz has the better submission game.

My recommendation for this one: If you only have $50 to spend this month, order this one. GSP Vs Penn II could be the early candidate for fight of the year.

The ADD Preview: Five Matchups That Will Kickoff 2009 In Style

2009-01-13T13:10:00.000-08:00

2008 was certainly an exciting year in Boxing. We saw the exodus of some of Boxing's biggest stars, as well as the entrance of some new stars onto the scene. Mayweather Jr. "retired", De La Hoya was all but retired, and Manny Pacquaio showed us 2009 will be his time to carry the torch as boxing's leading man.

Here are five upcoming match ups that I am looking forward to, some are only speculative at this point and subject to change.

1) Antonio Margarito vs. Shane Mosley

This one is booked and scheduled for Jan 24th, at the Staples center in Los Angeles. For my opinions on this fight, see http://bleacherreport.com/articles/108355-antonio-margarito-vs-shane-mosley-fight-analysis-and-predictions

2) Vic Darchinyan vs. Jorce Arce

Scheduled for Feb 7th on Showtime, this battle of junior bantamweights is for three trinket belts but more importantly, should be a slug fest. These two have repeatedly exchanged words, and have all but challenged each other's manhood. This is one fight that should feature both a guaranteed street fight and a knockout. This will be fun however long it lasts.

3) Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz

Tentatively scheduled for late Feb or early March, this battle will take place in Diaz's hometown of Houston, Texas. This should be an exciting battle against a tough, young, up and coming volume puncher and a true pound for pound great in Marquez. Will Marquez establish himself as the true number two pound for pound fighter on the planet or will the "Baby Bull" prove too much for the aging fighter?

4) David Haye vs. Wladimir Klitschko

Reportedly, this fight is on after big brother Vitaly agreed to take on Gomez instead of Haye. If this one comes to fruition, it could prove to be the biggest test "Dr Steelhammer" has faced in years. Have although not big for a heavyweight possesses not only the punch but the physical attributes necessary to give Wladimir trouble. Couple that with his brashness and unshakable confidence, and this could spell impending doom for the worlds number one heavyweight.

5) Manny Pacquaio vs. Anybody

It appears that contract talks are breaking down between Pacquaio and Hatton, as Pacquaio's camp is demanding a 60/40 split. It would be quite a shame if this fight doesn't come off due to sheer greed, Pacquaio's camp should realize Hatton can sell just as many if not more tickets than Pacquaio. If this one doesn't come off, let's hope Mayweather Jr. is there to take on Pacquaio in what will be quite possibly the first ever battle of number one pound for pound fighters ever.

Manny Pacquaio Defeats Oscar De La Hoya By TKO

2008-12-06T21:16:00.000-08:00

It was billed as the "Dream Match".

After eight rounds of a one sided beating, Oscar De La Hoya probably wished he was experiencing a bad dream.

Manny Pacquaio defeated Oscar De La Hoya by eighth round TKO after De La Hoya did not answer the bell for the ninth round. It was all the better, as Manny was putting on a boxing clinic up and until that point.

He boxed beautifully, got in and out before Oscar could respond, peppering him with lead left hands. He forced De La Hoya to continually have to reset himself to punch, by which time Manny was already out of range.

He closed De La Hoya's left eye and was beating him from post to pillar until De La Hoya couldn't muster any offense at all. It was the type of performance that showed that De La Hoya's physical prime is far past him, as he was unable to match the speed or respond to Manny's onslaught.

De La Hoya had only been stopped once before, at the hands of a perfectly placed liver shot by Bernard Hopkins at 160 lbs. What occured tonight was much different, as he was blitzed by the younger fighter.

"He's just a great fighter," De La Hoya said. "I have nothing bad to say about him. He prepared like a true champion."

Pacquaio was fighting for the first time at 147, and actually came in to the fight unofficially at 148 and a half to De La Hoya's 147. De La Hoya figured to use his height and reach advantages to keep Pacquaio at bay with his jab, but was unsuccessful.

"We knew we had him after the first round," Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach said. "He had no legs, he was hesitant and he was shot."

Next for Pacquaio might be a potential matchup with the 140 lb Ring Magazine Champion, Ricky Hatton. Pacquaio has expressed a desire to move back to 140 and Hatton was ringside to observe the fight.

For De La Hoya, this may be the end of the road. In no other sport is the end so sudden, so violent, or harsh as it is in boxing. Tonight, De La Hoya looked every bit of 35, with his reflexes shot and legs gone.

If he retires after sixteen years as a pro it will be one of the most lucrative, if not successful boxing careers of all time.