Overeem wins ugly affair.

Allistar Overeem moved on to the next stage of the Strikeforce grand prix last Saturday night, beating Verbricio Verdum by unanimous decision in an awkward main event. Overeem was trying to avenge a loss to Verdum, in 2006, via Komura in round two. Verdum, on the other hand, was trying to prove to the skeptics that the victory over MMA legend, Fedor Emelinlenko, was due more to his strategy and not just a mental lapse of Fedor. Since Werdum is a jujitsu specialist and Overeem is a powerhouse kick boxer, their game plans were simple: Werdum wanted to take the fight to the ground and Overeem wanted it to be a striking battle.

In the first round, Werdum tried to surprise Overeem by throwing a high kick, but an excited Overeem clinched Werdum and went for his knees. After that brief scuffle, the fight started to deteriorate, Werdum would stand up as if he wanted to engage in battle, but as soon as Overeem would begin to oblige him, Werdum would fall to the ground without even being hit. Then, Overeem would move away, allowing Werdum to stand up and Werdum would motion to Overeem to come to the ground. Baffled by what Werdum was doing, Overeem would throw his hands in the air and look at the crowd.  The crowd, identifying with Overeem’s frustration would respond with a chorus of boos directed at  Werdum.

This continued throughout the fight to the disappointment of the fans, Overeem, and the judges who scored the fight overwhelmingly for him. With the win, Overeem will move on to fight Antonio “Big Foot’ Silva who beat Fedor Emelianenko in dominating fashion. This should be an exciting match up in a tournament that has already had its share of fireworks.

On the undercard Former UFC Heavyweight champion, Josh Barnett, easily defeated Bret Rogers in the second round with an arm triangle choke. Barnett will now move on in the tournament while Rogers suffers his second defeat.

Octagon Note: Alistair Overeem has dropped out of the Strikeforce tournament and Was cut by Strikeforce all together. Look for him to return fighting under the UFC banner.

In addition, Bret Rogers was cut from Strikeforce after second loss.

Sadom Ali passes test.

Newark, NJ- Friday night top welterweight prospect, sadam ali passed the first test of his young career, defeating young, strong, knock-out artist john revish of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In an extremely heated contest with a lot of hard punches being fired, sadam used his stiff jab and boxing ability to keep the athletic but inexperienced ravish at bay. In the eighth and final round, revish connected with a big left hook that staggered the Brooklyn native. That was the test that sadam ali had to pass: how to react to a big punch. Once Ali was staggered, revish moved in for the finish but Ali showed poise and held on, clearing his head and ending the round strong.

Sadam ali has been gaining momentum, in his last three outings with spectatular knockouts and boxing exhibitions. The star can only get brighter for the young man from Brooklyn

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Top welterweight contender Joel Julio scored a unanimous decision over Anges Adjaho. It was one of Joel’s better performances, keeping adjaho at bay with his jab and power punching. But the explosive power that once bolted Joel to title contention has eluded him and most of his recent bouts have gone the distance. Joel’s next fight will take place July 23^rd against Antoine Smith.  It will be a crossroads fight for both fighters.

Chavez wins 154lb Title.

Los Angeles, CA- The Legend continues! Julio Chavez, Jr. won the first title of his young career, beating Germany’s Sebastian Zbik, in front of a lively crowd at the Staples Center. Many in the boxing world have criticized Chavez heavily, including people from his homeland. When Chavez fought two amateur fights, in Mexico, they where both shown on television and once he turned pro, Chavez was fed a heavy dose of handpicked opponents, being featured on major pay per views. Many fighters, in his community, took this as a slap in the face, believing that his opportunities were the result of his last name and his father’s legacy instead of his personal ability.

After struggling to make weight in one bout and being caught using diuretics to make weight in another, many where questioning his commitment to the sport. Enter Freddie Roach: Chavez knew he needed a change and felt the only trainer to do that was the best trainer, in the business. The relationship was a success Chavez won his next two bouts in impressive fashion.

In this title fight, from the opening bell, Chavez came out and attacked the champion with hard body shots.  Zbik, not having Chavez’ power, decided to throw combination shots. The fight was a back and forth affair with Chavez throwing less but landing with harder shots, while Zbik laid off the power and continued to keep the punch volume high. Chavez outweighed Zbik by twenty pounds and was not concerned with the champion’s power, walking through most of Zbiks shots, even the clean hits.

In the last three rounds, Chavez upped the tempo and started landing hard punches in combination, hurting Zbik. To the delight of the densely populated Chavez supporters at the Staple Center, he was relentless, attacking the body and, then, the head. In the end, the judge’s scorecards read 114-114,117-111.116-112. Chavez’ late surge secured him the victory. Chavez gave respect to Zbik and thanked the crowd and his father for the support. It was a great win for young Chavez.  Now, a big money match up can be made down the road for the newly crowned champion.

- The Boxing King -

Pacquiao Embarrases Mosley!

Las Vegas- “You gotta stop the fight!” “I got a blister on my foot. I can’t move.” Those are the words of Shane Mosley, in his corner Saturday night, at the end of the tenth round against pound for pound King, many Pacquiao. Nazeem Richardson, Mosley’s trainer had to convince his fighter that he was great and able to finish the fight with a knockout. It was quite a shock to see a great fighter like Mosley reduced to such a feeble state but that’s what Pacquiao has been doing, lately, to his last six opponents. The fans are starting to get tired of it.

Throughout the last two rounds, the fans in the MGM Grand screamed for the “Pac Man” to end the match by knockout but Mosley used his jack rabbit defense to run away from Pacquiao and clinch, hold and complain his way to the decision. In the ring, Nazeem Richardson counseled his fighter, explaining to him why he let the fight continue, while Pacquiao walked around the ring with apologetic smiles to the fans for not getting the knock out.

Mosley’s face was covered with visible red bruises. Without question, it was the worst beating he has ever taken. For Pacquiao, this was just another big name on his resume and for Mosley, one last big payday. This fight also had another important factor: future opponents.  Now that Mosley is out the way, there are only two fighters left that really have a chance to beat Pacquiao: Marquez and Mayweather. Marquez fought Pacquiao in two close fights that ended in a draw and a split decision victory for Pacquiao.  Both could have gone either way. Mayweather beat Marquez in an one-sided affair.  Many people thought the fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao would happen, after that but neither camp was able to negotiate a deal.

The boos that were raining down on Mosley and Pacquiao indicate that if Pacquiao chooses any other fighter beside the two the fans want to see the public will be in an uproar. So fans, hold tight because Marquez or Mayweather will be the pac-man’s next opponent. If not, it will be another blow to the sport and the fans, so let’s hope that the powers that be are listening.

Jabs- Team Pacquiao listened to the boos and have signed to fight Marquez in a November.

- The Boxing King - 

Guida upsets Pettis!

Las Vegas- Anthony “Showtime” Pettis has been riding the celebrity train the last six months, leading up to his UFC debut against Clay “The Carpenter” Guida. In December of 2010, Anthony Pettis cemented himself in the MMA highlight reel hall of fame, when a flying spin kick off the cage landed right on the chin of his opponent. This move seemingly straight out of the movie The Matrix made Anthony pettis a instant star, appearing on ESPN’s first take and sports publications through out the state.

Fans and experts alike were already talking about Pettis as a favorite against the winner of ray Maynard and Light Weight champion Frankie Edgar, later in the year. Some fans, coming into tonight’s fight, where anxious to see what acrobatic finish Pettis would perform on Guida, whose aggressive style seemed tailor made for Pettis.

Guida kept Pettis on the ground the Majority of the fight

Those fifteen minutes were nothing of the sort as clay Guida manhandled Anthony Pettis on route to a unanimous decision. Anthony came out strong, trying to finish Guida, quickly, but as soon as Anthony was in range, Guida would shoot and take Pettis to the ground. Once on the ground, Guida would proceed to use short sharp elbows in close.  Pettis would try for submission attempts, but Guida managed to escape each one.

In the final minutes of the fight, Pettis secured a rear naked choke but once again could not finish The Carpenter. The fans at the Palm Casino were in shock, many expecting to see the new breed of MMA fighter. But what we saw Saturday night was the essence of  MMA; no matter how good you are on your feet, if you can’t get off the ground, it means nothing.

For Guida, he is, once again, in line for a title shot but with the lightweight division being as stacked as it is, who knows when that shot will come. As for Pettis, he is still an exceptional talent and will have another opportunity to highlight his skills, but he must understand that from this point forward, fighters will look to take him to the ground as soon as the bell rings.  We will see what happens next time for Pettis but the night belonged to The Carpenter.

Jones vs Jackson Who You Picking?

Las Vegas - rampage Jackson beat Matt Hamill Saturday night in a lackluster but dominate performance. Rampage recorded his 32^nd win, his 40^th fight overall, earning him, once again, a shot at the light heavyweight championship of the world. Rampage has been one of the most well known and well liked personalities to come from MMA. With his outlandish comments and traditional leg humping of lady reporters, Jackson has used his charisma and fighting background to catapult him into the big budget action blockbuster The A-Team.

Despite all that he has accomplished, his next fight is without question the biggest test of his career: superstar Light Heavyweight champion, Jon Jones. Rampage Jackson is a superstar and deservingly so but combat sports are about titles and Jackson needs to fight and win the title. Against Jones, rampage will be facing something he hasn’t faced in his entire career - a fighter that is a duel threat. Rampage has been successful in the MMA with his striking, using his wrestling base to keep wrestlers from taking them down and then, using is wild hooks to knock out the majority of MMA fighters that have little or no stand up at all.

Jon Jones, on the other hand, has a great ground game and an extremely versatile striking approach that is probably the best in MMA history. This match up will be interesting to see if rampage’s wild swinging style can compete with the versatility of Jones. If Rampage can defeat Jones, it will vault him to the top of the pound for pound rankings.  For Jon it will be another confirmation that he is the future of the MMA and rampage and the rest of the 205-pound division are outdated versions of a sport that has evolved into a new breed of fighter.

Tune in September 24^th to see history in the making at UFC 135

- The Boxing King - 

Froch Advances to the next round.

Atlantic City, NJ- WBC super middleweight champion, Carl Froch successfully defended his title Saturday against rugged veteran, Glen “the Road Warrior” Johnson. With the win, Froch now moves to the tournament finals against 2004 Olympic gold medalist, Andre ward from Oakland California. Despite the win, Froch had a difficult time with the Road Warrior, who’s pressure style kept Froch on his toes.

Froch had to move constantly, throwing combinations, but most of the punches landed on Johnson gloves.  Johnson would occasionally answer back with hard right hand leads that knocked the sweat off Froch’s head. Once Froch started to use the jab more frequently, the fight turned to his favor and the combinations began to land in succession.

Johnson, with both eyes starting to swell, started to work on the body of Froch to try to slow the champ down, but by this point, in the fight, a lot of Johnson’s steam had started to dissipate.  It was evident, when Froch landed a hard right hand to the chin of Johnson that whipsawed his head and a giant smile came over the brits face, that the tide had turned. This was the end, for Johnson, as Froch swept the last three rounds and won the fight, comfortably, on this reporter’s scorecard.  Despite Judge Nobuaki Uratan, who had the fight even, some officials actually score in favor of the fighter who comes forward, but this was clearly Carl’s fight.

It was a great victory for Froch, but the celebration will have to wait, as he, now, prepares for the biggest test of his career, against the super talented, Andre Ward.  Ward, most likely, will be the favorite, in the fight, but Froch as showed throughout his career that he is a winner and it won’t be easy for any fighter (whether young and/or talented) to take the title away from the determined Brit.

- The Boxing King -