Khan-Peterson 12-10-2011

Light Welterweight Fight for WBA and IBF Titles

Round 1: Amir jumps forward with a straight arm. Left jab by Peterson. Left hand and left elbow and left forearm by Khan. Left hook to the body by Khan. Left jab by Peterson. Peterson slipped/tripped on the referee’s feet. Combination by Khan. Left to the head and right to the body by Peterson. Left hook by Khan. Lft and a right by Khan. Left hook by Peterson. Hard right by Khan and Peterson barely touches the ground. Left jab by Peterson. Left to the body by Peterson.  Even (10-10)

Round 2: Right by Khan to the body, then the face, then a combination. Fighters trade punches. Forearm by Khan. Two to the body and a nice uppercut by Peterson. Hard right to the body by Peterson. Right by Khan. Left by Khan. Right by Peterson. Left jab by Peterson. Right by Khan. Left jab by Khan. Left to the body by Khan. Combination by Peterson. Combination by Khan. Fighters trade left jabs. Left hook by Peterson. Left to the body by Peterson. Left jab by Paterson. Combination and two rights by Khan.  Peterson (19-20)

Round 3: Fighters trade jabs. Combination by Khan. Right uppercut by Khan. Right by Khan. Three rights by Khan. Left to the body by Peterson. Left to the body by Khan. Blocked combination by Khan. Hard right by Peterson. Fighters trade lefts. Left by Peterson. Clinch. Peterson punching. Left hook by Peterson. Right hook by Khan. Uppercut by Peterson. Fighters trade lefts. Right by Khan. Body shots by Peterson. Right by Peterson. Right by Khan. Peterson clinches. Right by Peterson, then a body shot. Combination by Peterson. Combination by Khan.  Khan (29-29)

Round 4: Hard right by Peterson. It took 4 rounds for Amir to calm down. Combination with an elbow by Amir. Right uppercut by Khan. Body shots by Peterson. Khan is taunting Peterson. Left with an elbow by Khan. Left jab, then left hook by Khan. Two body shots by Peterson. Combination by Khan. Right by Peterson. Two rights by Khan, then a left. Body shots by Peterson. Hard right by Khan, then a left. Hard right, then a body shot by Peterson. Body shot by Peterson. Right by Khan. Right uppercut by Khan. Right by Peterson. Body shots by Peterson. Peterson (38-39)

Peterson’s corner is not ready for him. WTF?

Round 5: Fighters trade jabs. Right to the body by Peterson. Headlock by Khan. Combination to the body by Khan. Combination by Khan. Body shots by Peterson. Slip by Khan. Left hook by Peterson. Combination by Khan. Two lefts by Peterson. Left jab by Peterson. Khan (48-48)

Round 6: Right by Khan. Left to the body by Peterson. Clinch with Peterson getting in a few punches. Combination by Khan. Headlock by Khan. Ref tells Khan to stop pushing. Fighters trade punches. Flurry by Khan. Hard left by Peterson to the body. Right by Khan. Another hard left to the body by Peterson. Body shot, uppercut, and left hook to the body by Khan. Uppercut and flurry of punches by Peterson. Left and right to Peterson’s face. Left hook by Peterson. Answered by Khan. Khan (58-57)

Round 7: Left by Peterson. Combination by Khan. Two to the body by Khan. Two to the body by Peterson. Combination by Khan. Another combination by Khan. Left hook by Peterson. Left jabs by Khan. Peterson holds Khan’s arm between his forearms. Shots to the body by Peterson. Right by Peterson. Combination by Khan. Another headlock by Khan. Left to the body by Khan. Combination by Peterson. Kahn is running around the ring backwards. Right uppercut, shots to the body, and a left hook by Peterson. Khan is against the ropes. Hard right by Peterson. Peterson just advancing. Khan holding Peterson’s head. Hard right by Peterson. Ref takes away one point from Khan for pushing Peterson.  I won’t deduct due to Peterson holding Khan’s arm. Peterson (67-67)

Round 8: Shut up Kellerman. Left jabs by Khan. Right uppercut by Khan. Left to the body by Peterson. Peterson trying to throw punches. Khan holding. Left hook to the body by Peterson. Body shots by Khan. Khan against the ropes. Left hook to the body, left uppercut by Peterson. Right hook by Peterson. Combination by Khan. Combination by Khan. Hooks to the body by Peterson. Headlock by Khan. Rights and a left uppercut by Peterson. Body shots and an uppercut by Peterson. Left hook by Khan. (There was a low blow by Peterson, but there was a low blow by Khan earlier that even the commentators didn’t notice.) Peterson (76-77)

Round 9: Khan misses several shots. Clinch. Right hook to the body by Peterson. Right uppercut by Khan. Two to the body by Khan. Left hook to the body by Peterson, then several body shots and an uppercut. Khan against the ropes and taking body shots. Two rights by Khan. Peterson a little wobbly. Left upper cut and a left hook to the body by Peterson. Combination by Khan. Left to the body and an uppercut by Peterson. Left uppercut by Khan. Hard right by Khan. Peterson hurt. Khan follows up with an uppercut. Left hook and uppercut by Peterson. Combination by Khan. Hard right and an uppercut by Peterson. Headlock by Khan and a shove to the ground. Khan (86-86)

Round 10: Peterson comes out swinging. Several blocked punches by Peterson, and then he connects with a left. Blocked combination by Khan. Weird jumping punch to a clinch and then almost a slip by Khan. Fighters trade punches. Combination by Khan. Another combination by Khan. Fighters look tired. Hard right by person. Flurry by Khan. Several body shots by Peterson. Khan has finally stopped running away from Peterson. Khan holds Peterson’s head and Peterson works Khan’s body.  Khan (96-95)

Round 11: Headlock by Khan. Combination by Khan. A left and a right by Peterson. Hard left hook by Khan. Peterson answers. Khan against the ropes. Uppercut by Khan. Headlock by Khan. Combination by Khan. Two to the body by Peterson. Two to the head by Khan. Khan against the ropes. A few to the body and an uppercut. Combination by Khan. Several punches by Khan. Even (106-105)

Round 12: Combination by Khan. Another combination by Khan. Clinch. Right by Khan. Body shots by Peterson. Right by Khan as the ref was breaking them up. Ref takes another pint from Khan for pushing. Combination by Khan. Right hook to the body by Peterson. Right uppercut by Khan. Left jab by Peterson. Left hook and a combination by Khan. Both fighters jumping around and throwing wild. Amir Khan fakes being pushed into the ropes. Khan jumps into Peterson. Even (116-115)

I have Khan by 1 point. I didn’t deduct any points from Amir Khan. Instead, I’ll describe how Khan is a dirty fighter in my analysis below.

Official Decision: 113-112 Peterson, 114-111 Khan, 113-112 Peterson > Peterson by Majority Decision

REMATCH!

What an exciting and exhausting fight.  Seriously, I need a nap.

For a second I thought Shaggy was in the front row. It was David Haye. I also thought I saw Stevie Wonder in the audience. Not confirmed or denied.

There’s been a lot of hullabaloo over Khan’s point deduction. The first deduction would’ve been legit if the ref had warned Khan that he would deduct a point if Khan kept pushing. The second deduction was just excessive and unnecessary. Here’s the thing: If you’re a dirty fighter, the ref or the judges will find a way to screw you. Khan loves following up his punches with the forearm and elbow of his punching hand. I’m annoyed just watching. I can’t imagine how his opponent feels. More evidence that Khan is a dirty fighter: My mother admires his fighting style and says he’s a baala (naughty) fighter. If my mom is cheering for someone, trust that they’re shady.

Khan is a cheap, dirty fighter. I don’t understand why he’s a star. He reminds me of Gamboa. A brawler lacking in fundamentals. Except Gamboa doesn’t fight dirty. Khan uses his elbows and forearms almost as much as he uses his fists, with a nice head butt thrown in every once in a while (see McCloskey fight). He’s fought and beat some “name” fighters that were just like him: Malignaggi and Judah. And the required: Legend in decline, Barrera.

 

“I was the more [sic] cleaner fighter.” Note he didn’t say I’m a clean fighter or I was the clean fighter. He said “cleaner.” It’s like saying my dog’s ass is cleaner than your dog’s ass. Still not somewhere you’d like to store sterilized medical instruments.

Peterson did a great job and held his own against Amir who can be a manic brawler. I think Peterson would have chance for a clearer victory in a rematch . . . Unless it’s in England. Hometown advantage is a reality of all sports and not just another slimy facet of boxing. A rematch would be quite exciting. I wonder if Khan would revert back to his back alley fighting style or clean up his act and be a good, clean, technical boxer. Only time and a rematch will tell.

Side note: I whole heartedly agree with the DC commission’s decision to not allow an immediate interview with the ref. Ref’s shouldn’t be interviewed. Interviews = opinions. Refs should just be about the facts occurring in the ring. Are they always? No, but that’s the ideal. Allowing interviews would erode the credibility of boxing decisions. Well, more so.   

Short blurb on Ibragimov-Mitchell

Mitchell is a former football player who began his boxing training in his twenties. Ibragimov is another heavyweight from the former Soviet Union who is 36 and unlikely to go much further.

Fight stopped in the 2^nd.  Mitchell looks like he’s still learning the fundamentals, but seems to have some natural ability and timing.  Mitchell’s a contender. It remains to be seen if he can go the distance.

Tonight’s fights brought to you by Golden Boy, which means B Hop and Oscar in the front row. If you’re thinking to yourself, “I didn’t see B Hop,” he was the guy in the annoying, hipster glasses. If only someone had thrown an elbow at HIM and knocked those glasses right off of his face.

Manfredo-Chavez 11-19-2011

Peter Manfredo, Jr. v. Julio Caesar Chavez, Jr.

Middleweight Championship Fight – WBC Belt

Going into it, it seemed like an evenly matched fight. Two boxers who have something to prove. One a former reality show contestant. The other the son of a legend. Manfredo’s previous notable fights include Joe Calzaghe and Jeff Lacy. He lost to both. I was impressed by how many professional fights Manfredo has had, especially at his age (43-0-1).  It showed during the fight.

Round 1: Right away, I dislike Manfredo’s trunks. I’m of the Mike Tyson school of boxing wear: less flash, more punching people in the face. Chavez is the aggressive. He gets in a good shot at the body. Chavez showing great head movement and great timing early on. He’s quick, but not overeager. Not at all like Freddy’s other protégé, Amir “King of Nothing” Khan.  Chavez easily bats away Manfredo’s jabs. Chavez connects with two jabs. Manfredo swings wild to end the round going for a good showing at the end, but fails. Chavez (9-10)

Round 2: Chavez connects with a jab. Then a left hook.  There are a lot of punches being thrown, but not a lot are landing. Both have good defensive styles. Hard right by Chavez. Some more exchanges that are defended. Hard counter right by Chavez. Manfredo to the body. Manfredo needs to pace himself. He is going to get tired. Left upper cut by Manfredo. Jab by Manfredo.  Chavez (18-20)

Round 3: Hard right by Chavez. Another hard right by Chavez. Exchange of jabs. Manfredo is losing his patience and moving in with his hands down. He’s lucky he didn’t get knocked out. Chavez to the head. Manfredo to the body. Chavez with a right to the head. Manfredo with a left to the head. Manfredo’s tape around his glove becoming undone. Time out by the referee to fix it. Hard left and then the bell and then a hard right by Manfredo. Even (28-30)

Round 4: Missed the first 30 seconds (long trip to the refriderator). Chavez charges in. Exchange of jabs. Crowd is chanting Chavez. Hard right to the head by Chavez. Manfredo swinging wild. Chavez swinging focused. Body/head combo by Manfredo. Chavez taunting Manfredo.  Right roundhouse by Chavez. Very exciting round. Chavez brawling a bit. A risky endeavor that pays off. Chavez can mix it up. Hard left jab by Manfredo. Right to the head by Chavez. Chavez (37-40)

Round 5: Left jab by manfredo. Manfredo blocks a combo, but his counter misses. Manfredo has a great left jab. He just needs to follow up like his corner suggested. Left jab by Chavez. Left to the body by Manfredo. Hard Right by Chavez and Manfredo wobbles. Manfredo against the ropes. Chavez is going to town. Manfredo moving side to side along the ropes. He’s not throwing punches. He’s not protecting himself. Manfredo tries to clinch at the same time the Ref jumps in to stop the fight. If it had been later in the round, I would’ve called it a bad stoppage, but there was still over a minute left in the round.  TKO for Chavez

Punch stats show that Manfredo threw much more, but landed much less.

Chavez has great timing. He can box and he can brawl. He’s focused and calm in the ring. Seems like a much mature fighter. I would think that the son of a legend would be flashier than someone with Amir Khan’s background. You can’t tell at all that they have the same trainer.

Manfredo’s corner told him to work his combinations off of his jabs. Excellent advice.  Classic boxing. Too bad he didn’t take it. I think Manfredo is going to be one of those boxers that up and comers fight and beat on their way to the top. And “Pride of Providence” has to be one of the worst nicknames ever.

Roy Jones: “I saw a very, very good young fighter.”  It’s nice that he’s expanded his vocabulary.  I think he’s heard all of the taunting of his “really, really bad” comments from my friends Chris and Preston. It’s nice to know that you can make a difference as a fan.

I love that Julio Caesar Chavez, Sr. eschews the uniform of his son’s corner for a tux. Now that’s really, really classy.