The Product of Great Match Making or Skill?

I struck a lot of readers nerves on eastsideboxing.com with my latest article...http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=18595&more=1

It appears that many people are fooled that Wladimir Klitschko is indeed a great fighter. I say the best heavyweight in the world is his brother Vitali. Big brother Vitali continues to beat up the fighters that have beaten or ruffed up his brother in Corrie Sanders, and Sam Peter. If big brother always takes care of little brothers problems then HE must be considered the best.

I respect Vitali far more because he is far more battle tested. He also doesn't quit or suddenly fall apart in fights when the opposing fighter fights back hard. Why the fuck is Wladimir then looked at as such a great heavyweight when big brother is the one who dominates the fighters Wladimir struggles with?!

Great match making puts quite a trance over many people it seems. Minus his dominant performance over former heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov, who the hell has Wladimir beat with a fighting pulse?

The shit I read coming from some people is that Wladimir is far more experienced and doesn't make the same mistakes he did in his past losses. Really?! Ok, he beat Lamon after Lamon suffered a bruising defeat to Serguei Lyakhovich and after not fighting for 15 months. Yeah, that's pretty impressive isn't it? The fuck if it is! Are you kidding me? Sure Wladimir beat the shit out of Lamon in the rematch but it was very clear that Lamon was nowhere near the fighter he was the night he knocked Wladimir out. I know that's not Wladamir's fault, but that's also what happens when you wait for the strong to get weak. Their patience and timing paid off and that's bullshit!

All good fighters lose and it's necessary for them to get better I know. Provided that the mistakes they made don't happen again OR their weaknesses aren't again exposed. Wladimir's losses have resulted from a weak chin and heart. Every fucking time he's pressured or pushed against a strong puncher these weaknesses vividly reappear.

Yeah I know it's been a while since he's showed even a glimpse of these weaknesses, but it's also been a long fucking time since he's fought any fighter with balls and heavy hands.

The way he's been matched recently has fooled many people into thinking that his weaknesses have been strengthened. I'm not buying it, styles make fights and a fighter who comes to fight turns Wladimir into a different fighter and he in turn fights a different style while wearing a skirt.

I don't give a shit that Haye hasn't beaten any top heavyweight contenders yet. Minus Arreola, he's the only one who'll come at Wladimir and check his chin. That's what I want to see, how this new and improved Wladimir handles power and pressure. Yes even against a less experienced and blown up crusierweight fighter in Haye. A fighter can't improve his chin and grow balls after he's been neutered by big punchers in the past by fighting soft opposition. Haye for as inexperienced as he is will at least check Wladamir's chin. We'll see if Wladimir does indeed still have some hanging when Haye hits him hard. Haye will carry some good power in this fight. That's all I want to see. I want to see how much he's really improved mentally and emotionally.

If Haye can pull the upset will we again see big brother coming to his little brother's rescue in getting get back? We'll soon find out when the soft match making ceases.

Mosley Proved Great Fighters Are Forged In The Gym.

Shane surprised many people last Saturday night myself included. I thought Shane would have his moments just not enough of them to beat Antonio. I was pleasantly wrong. So how did he pull this off and rise to the occasion? I'll tell you how...












Mosley owes EVERYTHING he's learned in the gym as a young teenager and over the years sparring many good Latino fighters to his victory over Margarito last Saturday night. He forged a strong back bone in his sparring sessions learning the lost art of body punching. He learned how to defend against them, dish it out, and deal with hard body shots.

In looking back coming into this fight besides Antonio's strength what does he do that Shane hasn't dealt with over and over again over the many past years sparring with Mexican fighters? Nothing much is what. That's what quality sparring and gym work instills in a fighter with an over abundance of talent.

I failed to recognize this. I failed to realize that Margarito's style, strength advantage or not, fits right into Shane's. I looked at Shane's past performances against Cotto, Wright, Vargas, to voice my logic. Bad move.

Style's make fights and Margarito's style was perfect to make Shane look very special that night. Shane of course had to fight a perfect disciplined fight to take advantage and he did. He's a pro, always has been and always will be until he retires.

He also knows how to fight and take advantage of a fighters weaknesses while nullifying their strengths when their style fits like a glove to his. Mosley slayed the feared and rugged beast in Antonio, and he owes all his hard core sparring sessions over the years with Latino fighters for this huge win.

Shane proved he is old school and one of the best fighters of our generation. Shane has always been a great fighter but minus his first stellar victory over Oscar he hasn't left a lasting impression to cement his greatness... Until last Saturday night that is.

I'm not throwing Antonio under the bus either I was just shocked on how he couldn't get anything going. But then again, that's what superior ring generalship does to a fighter. Shane displayed that superbly. I'll say it again, styles make fights. Cotto beats Mosley, Margarito destroys Cotto, Mosley destroys Margarito. That's boxing!

We all should feel VERY fortunate to be able to have watched living old school fighters like Hopkins and Mosley school younger feared champions in Pavlik and Margarito.

If today's aspiring fighters want to follow even remotely close in their footsteps, they better get quality work in the gym, because that's where champions are created and forged.


Note: It's now Pilger-1 Cosgrove-1. My bud Alwyn was smart enough to take Shane and even up the score... For now at least! :-) We have a blast analyzing fights and we both are very happy with how boxing has opened up 09. The best is yet to come in what is going to be a HUGE year for boxing.

Showcase it and they will come

Mosley-Margarito was jammed packed with real boxing fans and no promotion was really done. Price a great fight correctly while putting it in a real fight town and this is what happens. Let's hope this trend continues.

Where's Oscar?

What the hell was Oscar doing at the Affliction fight that didn't sell well that night? Oscar continues to prove that his actions don't match his fake words... When will he come out of hiding? The REAL boxing fans in LA were booing when Oscar's name was announced. Alwyn who was at the fight said " they booed so loud I thought he was in the building!" I'm glad he wasn't at the Margarito-Mosley fight because the real fighters from Golden Boy Promotions enjoyed the post fight spotlight that night in Mosley and Hopkins. They of course are what Oscar isn't.... REAL fighters.

Margarito-Mosley: My pick.

Boxing is off to a BIG start in this year! Tonight's fight is SOLD OUT and there's a lot of buzz surrounding this fight. Rightfully so because there's going to be a lot of action. Great to see all the support for this fight. Now let's get into it.

Look for Mosley to try to pick his shots with Antonio early while mixing in some body work of his own. He'll box and try to turn Antonio as best as he can. He'll give Margarito fits while he can keep it up. Can he keep it up though? IF he can it'll he can pull the upset. He's up for this fight that's for sure but I don't know if he has enough in the tank to keep Margarito off of him for twelve rounds.

Look for Antonio to walk Shane down just beating away at anything he can but mostly targeting his body. Antonio is going to look a lot bigger in the ring and with his big and strong ring presence I think he'll beat on Shane's body and arms and wear him down late with relentless pressure and will. Antonio sucks the fight out of a lot of fighters. Antonio will make the ring a lot smaller with his cutting it off. This will allow him to pin point Shane and beat on him.

I think it's going to be a big night for Antonio and I think Shane is going to put on a great performance but I just don't think he's strong enough to keep Antonio off of him the whole night and that's the fight right there.

Margartio UD. Don't be shocked if he stops Shane late though.

Berto Was Taught What He Couldn't Have Learned In The Gym.

In this weekends tough and close fight against Luis Collazo Andre Berto gained some serious experience that he couldn't have received any where else. This fight was a war and both fighters showed heart, will, and the substance of champions. For the record I had the fight 114-113 Berto. This was also the exciting fight HBO was looking to open 2009 with.











Going into this fight many doubted Berto's talent and mental makeup. Some thought he hit a ceiling in his development. I don't know why people thought this from a young and inexperienced fighter like Berto. I mean he's only had 23 fights going into the fight with Collazo! What the hell do you expect from a young fighter with that many fights? Shit, they're acting like he's had 37 fights or something.

I think Berto proved a lot in this fight and he needed that experience badly. No longer will he, his team, or anyone else really should wonder how he'll perform in REALLY tough/close situations against a good fighter. Berto gained some valuable big fight experience against a crafty, fast, and experienced fighter.

Andre learned a lot about himself in that fight just as we learned a lot about Andre.

The kid has 24 fights now and came through in a very tough fight that many other young champs probably would've folded in. Can everyone please shut the fuck up now and let this kid continue to develop?!

Based of this last weekends performance. I know he will.

*** Berto really needs to stop being so wild and sloppy at times when he's exchanging. His lateral movement must improve to to take advantage of his vast strengths. A more consistent body attack needs to be developed as well. Head hunting gets you tired quick and leaves you open for counters as Berto found out last weekend.

PS: Big props to Luis. The dude has earned a rematch or at least another crack at another champion. How about Collazo-Clottey? Hmmm... That would be a pretty damn good fight!

You Better Be Adding This To Your Training For Improved Boxing Performance.

I was asked recently how important I thought massage was to a fighters performance. In my opinion and what I see is that fighters don't get enough how quality deep tissue work. Deep tissue work is vital to keeping trigger points ( tight taut knots of muscle tissue ) from limiting your boxing performance.

I know a quality deep tissue therapist is expensive but you can also look into a massage therapy school and pay half the price that you would for an experienced therapist. Keep in mind you get what you pay for and the quality won't be as good as comes with an experienced therapist but it beats nothing at all.







Another alternative is using a foam roller to address tissue quality. The foam roller is great for improving mobility as well. It's a wonderful simple tool for recovery and improving tissue quality that'll lessen the chance of any soft tissue injuries that can happen in training.

Bottom line, get some deep tissue work done or roll to increase your chance of making it to the fight without a hidden injury.

Are you really mastering the basics in your boxing training workouts?

Tonight on Friday Night Fights Bernard Hopkins and Teddy Atlas noted on how many of todays fighters lack the basics in a huge way. Everyone wants to be a Roy Jones Jr. or Floyd Mayweather Jr.

They were gifted fighters, gifted with awesome reflexes and speed. Floyd got out because his well was drying up and we have been seeing what has been happening to Roy. His reflexes are gone and he has NO basics to fall back as Hopkins pointed out.

Take your time. Master the basics like footwork. Learn the art of boxing. Building that base and mastering the basics ensures longevity as Hopkins displays.

I take my time with my fighters always going back a step once we take a small step forward. This is the sweet science baby. Train like it is!


Click here http://boxingperformance.com/ for more world class boxing training workout instruction and tips.

A Must Have Training Tool For Your Boxing Training Workouts.

Not as many gyms as you may think have uppercut bags. The uppercut is a very neglected and underdeveloped punch. Great fighters master it and know what it can do.

In this video clip below I teach you the basics on how to work the uppercut bag.



Click here http://boxingperformance.com/ for more world class boxing training workout instruction and tips.

Gym Notes: Bend Your Knees and Don't Box So Rigid.

I'm working with a 6'6 heavyweight on footwork, stance, and not being so rigid when he moves. This is particularly important when he slips punches. A common bad habit for a lot of fighters is bending at the waste and not the knees. Kelly Pavlik did this in his loss against Bernard Hopkins. That was one of the first things Bernard told Kelly to improve.

You have better balance, more rhythm, are less of a target ( especially if you're tall ), and you can counter better when bending the knees. Do you have this problem? Do you even look to see if you do? That's what the mirror is for when shadow boxing. Check yourself next time you're in front of a mirror shadow boxing. If you're boxing rigid correct that and watch how much better you become.


Click here http://boxingperformance.com/ for instructional videos on how to master basic to advance boxing skills.