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Sunday, July 15, 2012

I Won a Dollar on Danny Garcia Beating Amir Khan


Last night, Danny “Swift” Garcia shocked Amir Khan and his more than 1 million Twitter fans with a KO Victory.

Alright, it wasn’t big money but I was one of only six percent of boxing fans who bet Danny “Swift” Garcia would knock out Amir Khan in last night’s fight at the Mandalay Bay Casino. 

I won a dollar from fellow fight fan David L. at whose home I watched the match. 

The risk was greater to my reputation than to my wallet.  One reason for that was that I’d never seen Khan fight live and had only seen YouTube snippets of the Pakistani boxer.

But I’d seen Danny Garcia.  I met him when he was a scrawny kid boxing in the Pennsylvania amateurs.  He was “nice,” as they say, but not in the way a parent applies the word to a son’s new girlfriend.   

Danny was “nice,” as in tough, convincing fighter, the type you often find in streets of Philadelphia.  He wasn’t the best boxer in the world, and Khan boxed better, but Danny was the kind of stick-around kid that would overcome your fancy footwork, long reach and straight power punches, and then he’d roll right over you.

Danny wasn’t even looking when he launched a swooping left banger that floored Khan for the first of three times before ref Kenny Bayliss stopped it.

The reason Danny wasn’t looking was because he was eating a Khan right hand that pushed he head down and blew out his cheeks. 

But that’s why I bet a dollar on Danny.  I knew he would be there, outclassed but not outfought.  If you landed an effective three-punch combination, you could count on it that something would be coming back at you.

It was coming.  You might slip it, you might let it slide off, but it was coming.  Danny would take two or three to give one but it was coming.

For Khan, it came in fits and starts until it came with concentrated power in the third round, which left Khan rattled and reeling into his corner between rounds.

When guys like Danny Garcia get you going, they don’t stop.  The killer instinct comes natural to Philly fighter’s going back to B-hop, to Hank Lundy, to  Joe Frasier, Witherspoon and a host of others. 

If you’re reeling you’re going to go, and Danny Garcia went at Khan with singular purpose and the memory chips of victory stamped into his fists, brain, and body. 

I have a great affinity for Philly fighters, if you don’t know, and I thank Danny Garcia and his dad and crew for bringing it home.  At the end, he thanked the people who believed in him, and knew what it was that drove him.

As for Khan, I didn’t like him much at first, but he was gracious in losing and had great athletic style.  I wouldn’t go so far as saying I’m one of his million ardent admirers but I have new respect for him.


Friday, July 13, 2012

Sergio Martinez: I will beat Julio junior so bad that he will become unrecognisable – Boxing News | bettor.com

Sergio Martinez: I will beat Julio junior so bad that he will become unrecognisable – Boxing News | bettor.com

This will be one to watch in September, and the Latino Macho championship is up for grabs.  It's a hard one to pick with the unorthodox Martinez being 37 years old.  He deserves a shot at Julio fer sure and I enjoy trash talk (James Toney being my favorite champion of trash talk) but I kinda' wished he hadn't said that thing about Julio's dad.

Something like "You better take a picture of your son b/c when I beat him up he's going to be unrecognizable." 

That's going to ignite the Chavez camp as it's intended to do, hoping they'll waste energy on the psycho war, but it's not safe to strike a match while standing on stacks of dynamite.  There are the Mexican fans in the Chavez crew who are likely to take the remark personally.

I hope I'm wrong.  Muhammad Ali had the right idea with his style of trash talk, directed at the fighter, not his family.   I heard Great Ali myself, and it was pretty good stuff, designed to wind up the opponent and get him to fight harder. 

"Is that all you got punk?  Shoot your load, punk.  Is that it?..."

And so forth.  Anyway, the moral lesson is over and Martinez is forgiven and I am looking forward to watching this fight.  Chavez was underestimated before, and it's likely he'll be underestimated again. 

But as with the Mayweather clan, boxing's historical imperative runs in the Chavez DNA, and a smart, strong kid like Chavez Jr., if not taken care of early, could punish Martinez severely in late rounds.

Canelo Alvarez FIGHTING WORDS – MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY SHOCKER – Boxing News | Ringside Report

Canelo Alvarez FIGHTING WORDS – MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY SHOCKER – Boxing News | Ringside Report