Dirrell Schools Groves and Haye

Until six hours ago it was a foregone conclusion that James DeGale would beat George Groves, who has ginger hair. DeGale has unquestionably been developing faster than his rival. His victory pose where he imitates a statue in Trafalgar Square has looked far more assured as his career progresses, whereas Groves keeps getting punched in the face, which turns his whole body bright red. On that basis alone, you would be a fool to look past DeGale. However, a Twitter bombshell between David Haye and Andre Dirrell has changed everything.

Haye, as we all know, will be fighting a Klitschko or two this year and he realised that he needs to up his game, so he did what any smart boxer would do in that position.

He turned to Andre Dirrell.

We all know Dirrell is a great guy and is always willing to help a fellow professional, so naturally he was only happy to answer the call of Haye. After studiously watching him in action - like some kind of modern-day Freddie Roach - he knew he had his work cut-out, but he has been doing his best to impart his defensive genius on the Englishman. There has been particular emphasis on how to clinch, turn your back in a fight and throw less than 10 punches in a round. Once Haye masters the rudiments of this, Dirrell will show him some of the more complex techniques like using the whole ring to evade your opponent for 98.3% of a fight and how to effectively complain to the referee.

Naturally, Haye has been very excited about his progress under Dirrell’s tutelage, or ‘Dre’ as he is now allowed to call him, and has been quick to laud his younger mentor. “Andre is incredibly quick and agile for a tall guy, and he knows how to use every inch of the ring,” he said in an interview today. And he is absolutely right, Dirrell is a tall guy.

Haye has also been quick to develop a Twitter relationship with Dre. Some of the banter between them has been top-notch. One tweet read “Me @andredirrell & @5thstgymdino getting ready to start 2nd training session @ 5th st Gym”. Superb, it really is.

While reading all this banter, I came across the bombshell that George Groves is set to join them in Miami. The implications of this news is huge.

Dirrell will be training Groves for his fight with DeGale!

A quick look on the Hayemaker website confirmed as much. Haye said: “Andre... will be able to show George moves and punches that neither he or Degale will have seen yet.”

Once again Haye is bang-on. Dirrell knows moves and punches that haven’t even been invented yet... the world is not ready for them.

So tutoring Groves can only be a good thing for the ginger-haired Englishman. It’s a well known fact Groves’ defence is his biggest failing. It was perfectly illustrated in his fight with Kenny ‘FREEDOM!’ Anderson. The Scot had a cunning plan, which involved walking up to Groves and punching him in the face. Groves had no answer for the simplicity of Anderson’s tactics. He would bob and weave to the other side of the ring but Anderson would just walk over there and then punch him in the face again. Groves was nearly beaten until he realised he had to fight fire-with-fire, so he started throwing back. Luckily for him it worked and he stopped Anderson in the sixth.

Despite the victory it was clear that the blueprint had been written on how to beat Groves... you simply walk up to him and punch him in the face.

You can bet nobody would have known it better than DeGale either, but now everything has changed. Dirrell will be running a defensive clinic and Groves will be his number one patient. If he can only impart 1% of his defensive ability on the Englishman that’s still a 23.8% improvement in Groves’ overall ability. So there is no question that this will now install Groves as a massive favourite against DeGale.

This is good news because DeGale is not a very nice person and there are a lot of reasons to dislike him.

First and foremost, he has a stupid name. And when I say stupid, I don’t mean stupid like an American called Chip Gaylord, I mean stupid as in French. James DeGale actually means ‘James The Wind’ in French.

DeGale also beats up harmless waiters like in his last fight against Alpay Kobal. Not only that, Kobal was a French countryman of DeGale’s, which somehow made it worse.

As if that wasn’t reason enough to dislike him, DeGale also brings a small man called Jim (he says he is his trainer) to press conferences and uses him to unsettle opponents by shouting at them in a very high-pitched voice. It worked against Groves who looked shook-up. He obviously wasn’t used to being aggressively shouted at by a mini-Bee Gee. I can’t help thinking DeGale had intended that all along.

Thank God for Andre Dirrell. Now it looks like the arrogant and dastardly Frenchman James DeGale is going to get his just deserts while he gets knocked down a peg or two. It will be very interesting to witness the reinvention of Groves following his schooling by a defensive master. I just hope that when DeGale gets knocked around the ring, all proud Englishmen recognise the major part Dirrell played in that. Then thank him on Twitter or something.

Where Does Chisora Go From Here?

Dereck ‘Del Boy’ Chisora may be no angel but it would take a more heartless man than me not to feel some sympathy after he was shafted for a second time by Wladimir Klitschko. Against the backdrop of yo-yoing negotiations with WBA champion David Haye, Klitschko pulled out of the December fight with Chisora citing an abdominal injury, only to rearrange it for April and then swiftly cancel it again. Absolutely nobody was surprised when Klitschko and Haye announced their mega-fight soon after. You can’t help but think poor old Del Boy would, cap-in-hand, sign for a third fight if it was offered, but the chances of that are now more unlikely than the announcement of the original fight. Chisora doesn’t strike me as the type of man to mope, but if he is, he can console himself with the fact that this whole sorry saga has, at the very least, increased his exposure. Furthermore, there are other opportunities out there that don’t carry the same risk to his health as a ram-rod jab from Klitschko.

For starters, there is the mandatory defense of his British heavyweight title against Manchester gypsy Tyson Fury. In the run up to the Klitschko fight, Chisora gave the impression that this fight was about as appealing to him as the concept of losing is to Charlie Sheen but circumstances have changed and the fact that it has gone to purse bids for a bout no later than July, may not be so unwelcome after all.

The Fury bandwagon has been gathering momentum of late. Not only did he appear in a photo with Wladimir Klitschko, he has also been training with Kronk legend Manny Steward. It is no secret that Steward is one of the biggest mercenaries in boxing (if the money was right he would probably train me) but his credentials and ability cannot be questioned, so he has lent some legitimacy to the notion of Fury as a credible prospect.

It’s not inconceivable that a fight between Chisora and Fury could even take pride of place on one of Frank Warren’s ‘Magnificent 7’ style cards. Both boxers are brash, cocky and like to talk a lot of trash so they would have no difficulty selling it to the public. Stylistically, it also throws up several intriguing questions. There is the impression that Chisora is the tougher man but how would he negate the 8 inch difference in height? Has Steward’s tutelage elevated Fury’s jab closer to the level of Lewis and Klitschko or is it still the same noodle-jab that could not keep John McDermott off him? These two have looked no stranger to a pie in the past so whose stamina will hold up if the fight reached the later rounds? Can Fury deal with a volume puncher like Chisora swarming him all night? Can Chisora take a punch like the one Fury dished out to Marcelo Luiz Nascimento in his last bout?

So there is no shortage of intrigue and most British boxing fans would welcome it. Should Chisora come through it – and I have a sneaking suspicion he might – he could do worse then turn to Audley ‘A-force’ Harrison next. I know there is the school of thought that thinks Harrison should never be allowed near a boxing ring again, let alone make us pay for the privilege, but let’s not forget he is still a recognized name, an Olympic gold medalist and a former European champion. I accept he may have just have turned in possibly the worst performance in a heavyweight title fight ever, but if the PPV numbers proved anything, they proved the British public is still a sucker for Audley. And it’s not like we’re talking one of the Klitschko’s taking on Harrison, this is Chisora, so why the hell not?

With decent domestic options out there for Chisora, it may not be such a bad thing that the Klitschko fight fell through. Not least because he was nowhere near ready to take that kind of fight. As a 14 fight novice, Chisora is very green and would have been totally out of his depth. He is not a knock-out puncher, so the chances are that even with Klitschko’s questionable chin, he would have been unable to find a Hail Mary bomb to end the fight prematurely. His strength lies in fatiguing his opponents on the inside through a tireless work-rate before finishing them off when they begin to wilt, but Klitschko is an expert at utilizing his jab to keep his opponents at range and would not have given Chisora a sniff. The fight could have been embarrassingly one-sided.

Had such a beat-down occurred, Chisora’s reputation as a credible heavyweight prospect may have been tarnished. From a purely selfish point of view, I’m glad that he was unable to risk marginalization… the guy is pure comedy gold. He is eccentric, controversial and, at times, a borderline lunatic. Everything I look for in a boxer. Some of his quotes have been priceless:

“One day I woke up and I realized I was a fat kid — so I thought I would give boxing a go.”

“I wasn’t bothered when I found out the fight [with Klitschko] was off. I went out and had a burger.”

“Don’t let looks deceive you [just] because my body doesn’t tell you I’m fit.”

“[Manny Steward is] an Uncle Tom of the Klitschko brothers.”

And who can forget the time when he almost precipitated a mental breakdown in Carl Baker by planting passionate kiss on his lips in the stare-down?

The landscape of heavyweight boxing is changing. Regardless of the outcome between Haye and Klitschko, Haye says he is retiring at the end of the year (and he will look a real idiot if he doesn’t follow through), while the Klitschkos are not getting any younger, so it is possible that some of the belts will come in to play in the not-too-distant future. If Chisora beats names like Fury and Harrison, the exposure will help him become a recognized draw, so it’s not inconceivable he could get a genuine title shot in the future. I hope it happens because after the way Klitschko treated him, he really deserves it.

Alvarez - Hatton: The Vaquero Vs. The Carpet-Fitter

One of the things I love about boxing is the way it throws together two men from far flung corners of the globe – men separated by not only geography but also language, culture and ethnicity. The type of fighters who, had they entered any other profession, would likely have never laid eyes upon each other. One of the more intriguing cultural clashes in recent times – though probably not in a boxing sense - sees unbeaten sensation Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez meet Matthew ‘Magic’ Hatton on March 5th for the vacant WBC Super Welterweight belt at the Honda Centre in Anaheim, California.

Alvarez, the son of ranchers, grew up riding horses in Guadalajara, Mexico. Had he never found boxing it is likely he would have followed his family into the ranching business fulltime but fate had other plans and Alvarez now looks like being the most successful Mexican export since Corona, tacos and black tar heroin. With his shock of red hair, teenage freckles, and sheepish smile there is a gentle, boyish quality about him but once in the ring he is every bit as hardened and ruthless as compatriots like Chavez, Barrera and Morales.

Matthew Hatton (or ‘Ricky’s little brother’ as he is more commonly referred to) also worked in the family business before he took up boxing – fitting carpets in the grim industrial heartlands of Manchester, England. Hatton – with his clipped northern tones and no-nonsense, slightly earnest, approach to life - is something of a throwback to a more halcyon era. An era in England’s past when men were called names like Stan, Arthur and Cecil and didn’t face the challenges of a moribund economy, mass immigration and a criminally underperforming soccer team. Hatton will be looking to lift his nation but more cynical observers believe he will do nothing more than uphold the great British sporting tradition of the noble loser.

That these two fighters should even be contesting Manny Pacquiao’s vacated WBC super welterweight belt is controversial. Alvarez spent the vast majority of his career at welterweight while Hatton has never even fought at 154lbs and is only rated as fifth in the 148lb division. The WBC has since given the justification that all top contenders at Super Welterweight were unavailable but two of them were quick to dismiss that excuse. Ryan Rhodes and Vanes Martirosyan, ranked fourth and sixth respectively, went public with the fact they were never even contacted. You might expect this kind of skullduggery from the WBA but the WBC is meant to be the best regarded of the sanctioning bodies. Although, describing the WBC as the best regarded sanctioning body is probably a bit like saying Hodgkin’s disease is the most well thought-of form of cancer.

So the back-street machinations of WBC aside, what have we got?

Alvarez was brought up the hard way. He fought his first professional bout at 15 with no amateur experience – an age which, incidentally, would have left the promoters liable for prosecution had it been staged in Hatton’s country. Five years and 35 fights later, Alvarez had won them all except for the minor blemish of a draw in his fifth fight. Even for a Mexican that is an astonishing figure. To put it in context, IBF Light Middleweight holder Cornelius Bundrage, age 37, has had one less fight than Alvarez, while WBO holder Serhiy Dzinziruk, age 34, and WBA champion Miguel Cotto, age 30, have both had one more. Alvarez is only 20 years old! It’s certainly fair to say they do not mess around in Mexico.

2010 was an impressive year for Alvarez. Despite stepping up a level in competition, he came through with flying colors, scoring four knockouts in five bouts. Among those victories was a ninth-round knockout win over Jose Cotto (yes, that’s the less famous brother… are we beginning to see a trend?), a spectacular one-punch, sixth-round knockout of Carlos Baldomir, and a solid points victory over wily old campaigner Lovemore N’Dou.

It’s clear that Golden Boy Promotions has a new Golden Boy. Alvarez has already attained the stratospheric level of fame in Mexico that is ordinarily reserved for elite soccer players and if Oscar De La Hoya can replicate even a fraction of that Stateside, it can only be a good thing for boxing. Part of the plan is to get him speaking English – something most top Mexican boxers failed to accomplish. If he can learn the lingo and continue knocking out opponents then maybe, just maybe, the retirement Pacquiao and Mayweather may not sound the death knell on boxing, after all.

It seems inconceivable that Hatton could upset this and – to be realistic - that’s probably why he was picked. De La Hoya has been quick to talk up his experience and European belt but the likelihood is the Englishman does not have tools to trouble Alvarez. His technical ability is limited by comparison and – with only 16 KO’s in 41 wins – we’re not far from Paulie Malignaggi territory. On the other hand, Alvarez is not only a big puncher but clinical with it. The one chink in his armor is a lack of hand-speed but Hatton is slower and will not be able to exploit it. The only gamblers backing Hatton will be frothing-at-the-mouth English jingoists - the smart money will be placed on the red-headed Mexican man-child to claim the WBC belt.

So granted, in a purely boxing sense, this may not be the most exciting of match-ups but for me there is an intriguing, almost literary, quality to it. I imagine years before, Alvarez riding his horse in the barren Mexican desert like some kind of tragic young hero from a Cormac McCarthy western and then I think of Matthew Hatton – lunchbox tucked under his arm – arriving at a red-brick terraced house in rainy Manchester to lay a carpet. And the idea that years later they would meet in California to fight for a world championship is unlikely, poetic and exciting. The Mexican vaquero versus the English carpet-fitter… it has a ring to it.

The fight will probably suck, though.

Willie Casey vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux Preview & Prediction

Limerick’s favorite son, Willie Casey, is set for the test of his career when he faces two time Olympic Gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux. Up for grabs is the interim WBA World super bantamweight belt, which Rigondeaux claimed by split decision in his last bout against Ricardo Cordoba. This fight is intriguing, not least because of the hugely disparate paths the two men have taken to arrive at this point in their careers.

Rigondeaux, a Cuban defector, is an all-time amateur great who has seen more gold around his neck than BA Baracus, while Casey was an undistinguished amateur who may have toiled in obscurity as a professional had it not been for his upset win in Sky Sports’ Prizefighter tournament. The other interesting counterpoint is the clash of styles; Rigondeaux is a highly-technical outside fighter, every bit as adept at racking up points as in his amateur days, whereas Casey is a heavy-handed pressure fighter that likes to box at phone-booth range. Witnessing which man can impose his style on the other and emerge victorious will be one hell of a spectacle.

Willie Casey (11-0, 7 KOs)

Casey is of Irish gypsy stock and, amazingly, is one of 22 siblings. With such a large family, the Caseys are clearly staunch Catholics, so it is safe to assume the moniker ‘Big Bang’ is a reference his punching prowess and not a deliberate slight on the creationist movement.

[Read an exclusive interview with Willie Casey here]

A late starter, the Limerick native was 26 years old when he entered the professional ranks and received the break of a lifetime as a four fight novice by replacing the injured Wayne McCullough in Prizefighter. Sky’s boxing tournament may be little more than a modern-day circus boxing booth but there is no shortage of exposure for the fighter who braves the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and actually wins the damn thing.

Casey did just that – tearing up the form book in the process – as he steamrollered through Mark Moran, Josh Wale and Paul McElhinney. A shot at the European super bantamweight belt soon followed against fellow Irishman Paul Hyland – a replacement for Spanish knockout artist Kiko Martinez who vacated the belt after suffering an injury. Casey actually bullied the more experienced Hyland before stopping him in the fourth by TKO.

Casey is a big-punching brawler who operates most effectively in his opponents’ pocket. He may lack the technical ability of a world class operator but his high pressure style and tireless work rate goes some way to compensate. Interestingly, his boxing idol is Ricky Hatton and there are certainly stylistic comparisons. Like Hatton, he is an inside fighter that punishes opponents on the ropes and throws rib-breaking body shots. Also like Hatton, Casey is the type of fighter who leaves it all in the ring but whether his blood-and-guts approach can nullify the superior ring-craft of a fighter like Rigondeaux is another matter entirely.

Guillermo Rigondeaux (7-0, 5 Kos)

The Cubans arguably make better amateur boxers than they do cigars, and Rigondeaux is one of the finest they have ever produced. The highlight of his resume is claiming gold in two Olympics and two World Championships. While amateur records are sketchy at best, it is believed he won nearly 400 fights with only 12 losses. After a botched defection in 2007 he got it right in 2009, moving to Florida before announcing his intention to turn professional [and becoming one of many top-flight active boxers who defected from Cuba].

In his third fight, Rigondeaux outclassed the durable but shop-worn Giovanni Andrade, dictating the distance and tempo before stopping him by TKO in the 3^rd. A sterner test arrived in his seventh fight against Ricardo Cordoba for the interim WBA super bantamweight belt on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao Vs Antonio Margarito. The fight proved a stinker and Rigondeaux was fortunate to scrape through with a split decision victory, however, it should be recognized that Cordoba is a former world champion and was a huge test for a novice professional.

Many boxers over the years have dismissed the benefits of a distinguished amateur pedigree upon entering the professional ranks (usually the ones who do not possess one) but it’s clear that Rigondeaux is exuding a class and assurance that belies his tender professional experience. He is already highly adept at dictating the distance of a fight, using his mobility and footwork to keep his opponent on the outside, where he can potshot at will. Any attempt to shorten the range is met with monstrous power shots - usually hooks and uppercuts. Rigondeaux has also demonstrated impressive counter-punching abilities. Only Cordoba managed to upset the script, harrying and hustling the Cuban on the inside and refusing to have the terms dictated to him. He even (sort of) dropped Rigondeaux in the 6^th by forcing him to place a glove on the canvas.

Casey vs. Rigondeaux Preview & Analysis

Casey’s game plan is always to brawl on the inside and to date he has not found it hard to close the gap and unload on his opponents until they are broken down. Paul Hyland is a skilled boxer but he wasn’t tough or strong enough to hold off the Limerick man. Rigondeaux is a different beast entirely and finding a route past his barrage of jabs and power shots will be instrumental in determining whether Casey has any success in the fight.

In terms of vulnerabilities, it is clear he is not a highly technical boxer and has entered the sport too late to remedy this in any meaningful way. Furthermore, Casey has not fought a live opponent yet, nor gone past eight rounds, so it will be illuminating to discover if his stamina and punch resistance holds up to sterner examination.

Rigondeaux will not want a repeat of his showdown with Cordoba. That fight was fought on the inside too often and the Cuban will need to learn his lesson and work on keeping Casey on the outside. Key to this is a more positive approach – against Cordoba he was too defensive and reactive – so getting busy with the jab and utilizing the whole ring will keep Casey off him. But most importantly, he needs to punish the Irishman every time an attempt is made to encroach inside.

Rigondeaux does not have the technical limitations of his opponent nor will he have any trouble going 12 rounds - as he proved against Cordoba - but perhaps the location of the fight could be an issue. He may have travelled to every far-flung corner of the globe as an amateur but amateur crowds do not bubble with the particular vitriol or partisanship that is the hallmark of professional cards in Europe. How he copes with thousands of inebriated Irishmen calling for his blood could be significant.

Finally, it should be noted that both fighters are southpaws, so it may get scrappy in places with clinching and head butts, but ultimately the polarity in styles should prevent an anti-climatic stalemate.

Rigondeaux vs. Casey Prediction

I actually see this fight as the off-brand version of Hatton Vs Mayweather. Casey may have some early success as the aggressor but ultimately it will prove to be a messy, ill-disciplined aggression and he will get hit more as the fight progresses. Rigondeaux is faster, slicker, a better boxer and - for my money - a bigger puncher, so I cannot see the fight going any other way than his. I believe despite giving it his all, Casey will get caught too many times closing the gap and go out on his shield in the second half of the fight.

Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson? Meh...

Golden Boy’s CEO, Richard Schaefer, has left British fight fans distinctly underwhelmed with his recent announcement that Lamont Peterson is the favorite to fight WBA champion Amir Khan. After the real thriller waged between Khan and Marcos Maidana, there were hopes that Khan could build upon the momentum with a name that stirred more excitement in the breast of the common boxing fan than Peterson, so I think we can all be forgiven for the collective Meh uttered soon after the announcement.

Credit: Mark Robinson/Golden Boy Promotions

No disrespect intended to Peterson, but he has next-to-no recognition in the UK. Most boxing fans here only became familiar with him – or his name at least - when he stepped up to face Timothy Bradley for the WBO light-welterweight title – a fight in which he showed a lot of heart but was soundly beaten. The only time I remember him featuring on our TV was on the undercard of Khan-Maidana against Victor Ortiz.

So despite his admirable qualities - tough, awkward and a relentless body puncher – we’re not excited. Not least because he will be a heavy underdog, and should he lose his second world title shot, it’s likely that Peterson will merely serve as some form of high-functioning gate-keeper to the 140lb division.

Is this the best Team Khan and Golden Boy can do for his homecoming at the MEN Arena in Manchester?

At 24 years of age, it is perfectly understandable that Khan cannot go through war-after-war like in his last fight against Maidana. He has a lot of time on his hands unlike, say, Carl Froch, who has to make every bout count at this stage of his career. It’s also a given that Khan has one eye on a title unification with the winner of Timothy Bradley Vs. Devon Alexander. With that in mind, he surely doesn’t want a monstrous Maidana-like right to derail that potential fight, but there are still more compelling fights out there that could have been made.

Why not Zab Judah? There was every opportunity to get him on board before he agreed to face Kaizer Mabuza for the IBF light welterweight title. He is a former undisputed world champion, a recognized name and a big mouth who knows how to sell a fight. Judah is like Floyd Mayweather - many fans only watch in the hope he will get beaten up. He may be a little shop worn and certainly looked less than stellar in his last fight against Lucas Matthysse, but we would take Judah over Peterson any day of the week.

If Judah couldn’t be brought to the table there were even options at domestic level. Kell Brook – ranked No.1 by the WBO - has been mouthing off about Khan in the press, so it would have been as good a time as any to call his bluff. Every boxing fan in the UK wants to know if Brook is as good as he likes to tell us and the fact that he is mandatory to Manny Pacquiao’s welterweight belt should hold some sway with stateside audiences.

Golden Boy could have even signed up Matthew Hatton before negotiations with Saul Alvarez began. He is not a bad boxer in his own right but the very fact he is Ricky’s brother makes it massive – what if Khan opened a can of whoop-ass on Matthew? Maybe Ricky would come back to avenge his little brother and have one last hurrah in the spotlight while he’s at it. A complete fairy tale scenario but we can dream...

We can dream.

Isn’t that that at least half the fun in being a boxing fan? We dream about those legendary fights that captured our imagination. We dream about the potential match-ups that usually never materialize. We dream about hall-of-famers from different eras facing off. We dream about the next big fight with the anticipation building as the date edges closer.

Yeah, we definitely dream, but with every ounce of respect coming to Peterson, this is not a fight that will enter my subconscious any time soon.

Top British Prospects in 2011: The Definitive Guide

2011 has the hallmarks of being a special year for British boxing with title challenges on the horizon for Nathan Cleverly and Kell Brook, while James DeGale, George Groves and Frankie Gavin will be looking to establish themselves on the world stage and build towards their own world titles. Here I preview what the New Year is likely to hold for these young prospects.

Kell Brook

Kell ‘Kid’ Brook (23-0, 16 KOs) is a Brendan Ingle fighter to the core. The rangy, languid stance? Check. Low-slung hands? Check. Reflex-based defence? Check. Lunging shots thrown from unconventional, even bizarre, angles? Definitely. The boxers, with their various strengths, weaknesses and idiosyncrasies may change, but the style never does.

Naseem Hamed, it’s most famous exponent, was one of the finest physical specimens to grace the sport. He had devastating power, rapid hands, lightning reflexes... but his bout against the less physically-gifted Marco Antonio Barrera was a microcosm of every drawback inherent in the Ingle style. Barrera – a top-level technician well schooled in the fundamentals – jabbed and countered so effectively that Nas was kept off-balance, flailing around the ring and unable to plant his feet while being forced to throw wild, lunging pot-shots. The style was totally exposed and although no arguments can be made against the number of fighters trainer Ingle has produced, I have occasionally wondered what would have happened if a young Hamed (or even Herol Graham, Johnny Nelson or Ryan Rhodes) had walked into the Kronk gym instead of the Wincobank.

Brook, 24, is not an athlete of Hamed’s calibre but then few are. He is useful in all areas without actually excelling in any of them... reasonable power, decent speed, good movement and a promising boxing IQ. In 23 fights he has been fed a host of journeymen, with the best name on his resume coming recently, Michael Jennings (36-3, 17 KOs). It’s fair to say he has been matched very kindly and it’s beyond time he stepped up a level. Brook, the British welterweight champion, is ranked No.1 by the WBO but Manny Pacquiao will vacate the belt before he faces such an obscure fighter – I can imagine Bob Arum mulling it over in the Top Rank offices now:

Arum: So this English kid... what’s his name, Brook? Who has he faced?

Flunkey: Well, he once fought a guy who lost to Cotto?

Arum: That bad, huh? Can he bring over 20,000 like Hatton?

Flunkey: I don’t know if he could do 20,000 PPV.

Arum: Where does the WBO get these guys? Is Morales still breathing? Let’s make number four!

So while Brook Vs. Pacquiao is not going to happen any time soon (ever), he has recently being piping up in the press about Amir Khan (24-1, 17 KOs). This could be an interesting fight in the future – once Brook weans himself off the tomato can diet – because right now it would be insanity to take such a gargantuan step-up in class. Frank Warren knows this – despite his comments to the press – and he will be in no hurry to make the fight. More likely is the mooted bout against unbeaten American prospect Mike Jones (23-0, 18 KOs). Jones, at 6’1” looks like a super middleweight and punches like one too, so it should be a good test for Brook and will give the rest of us an indication of how far he can go in the sport. Of course, Jones recently looked less than stellar in escaping with a Majority Decision against gatekeeper Jesus Soto-Karass, and now has a rematch lined up against him to deal with.

Kell Brook quote:

On Amir Khan: “When we sparred together as amateurs they had to separate us because I was giving him a serious hiding. We were young, in a training camp, and he was heading to the Olympics. But when we got in the ring I pasted him. The fact is he is dodging me. I read that Frank Warren offered Amir £1.5m to fight me but it was bigger than that. He doesn't want it – but I'd love the opportunity. He is a nice lad but perhaps over-rated, he is fast but has a rubbish chin.”

Tip for 2011:

Brook needs to face better quality opponents, so hopefully we will see him thrown in against Jones. He may also get a chance to fight for the vacant WBO title should Pacquiao relinquish it in 2011.

James DeGale

It is far too easy to get carried away when an Olympic gold medallist turns pro, before ultimately ending up with egg on your face - the BBC paying Audley Harrison £1 million to broadcast his first ten bouts most prominently springs to mind – but with each passing fight James ‘Chunky’ DeGale (9-0, 7 KOs) looks the real deal.

His professional career got off to a rocky start when he was roundly booed while labouring to an unimpressive points victory over Georgian Vepkhia Tchilaia (9-11-1, 5 KOs) but this says as much about the weight of expectation on his shoulders as it does about the actual performance. Since that fight he has come on leaps and bounds, culminating in the recent clinical dismantling of British champion Paul Smith (29-2, 15 KOs).

DeGale’s bout against the tough, seasoned scouser - in front of a partisan Liverpool crowd - was intended to be the first real test of his career but in reality it proved a mismatch with Chunky barely leaving second gear while showboating some marquee combos. Smith was eventually stopped by TKO in the 9^th round.

It’s difficult to say how far DeGale can go - he has only fought domestic level opponents after all - but on paper he seems to have just about everything – lightning speed, decent power and a slickster Philly shell defence that makes him incredibly hard to hit. Indeed, at his best he appears like a rope-a-dope Jedi, bouncing, dodging and parrying his opponents’ attacks to such an extent that he has not actually been hit flush on the chin yet. Whether the 24-year-old can take a bomb is the $64,000 question and could be the definitive factor in whether DeGale will ultimately reach the pinnacle of the sport or flatter-to-deceive like the aforementioned Harrison.

George Groves (11-0, 9 KOs), or “the ugly ginger kid” as DeGale refers to him, is the mandatory to his British title. There is such an intense local rivalry – and no shortage of needle – that UK boxing fans are praying this fight gets made next. Frank Warren, DeGale’s promoter, already offered Groves a career high purse of £50,000 in September for a mooted December bout, which was side-stepped with a counteroffer by Groves’ slippery manager, Adam Booth – so whether it actually happens this time is anybody’s guess.

Provided DeGale avoids any slip-ups in his first British title defense, then Brian Magee’s recently vacated European title will be next on the agenda.

James DeGale quote:

"[George Groves] keeps using my name to get himself in the papers because, quite frankly, he's not going to get talked about talent wise. Anyone who saw his fight with Kenny Anderson would know that he's got about as much chance of beating me as he has winning a beauty contest. He's been comparing himself this week to Bernard Hopkins, but he's about as dangerous as Bernard Cribbins!"

Tip for 2011:

James DeGale is looking like the next-big-thing and I expect him to keep justifying the hype. Whether he faces Groves next or, more likely, another domestic opponent, he should come through unscathed. Despite recently being ranked No.5 by the WBO, a title shot for 2011 is unlikely, instead the smart money will back him to claim the European title before the end of the year.

George Groves

I wonder how many articles have been written about ‘Saint’ George Groves (11-0, 9 KOs) in the past year that haven’t featured the name James DeGale (9-0, 7 KOs)? One hand territory, I would wager, and for good reason.

Both fighters grew up a stone’s throw from each other in London and boxed out of the same amateur club, Dale Youth ABC. An intense rivalry developed, fuelled in no small part by Grove’s sense of injustice at DeGale’s favored-son status amongst Britain’s amateur boxing hierarchy. DeGale, at two years older, was the established choice and represented Britain at international tournaments and the Olympics. Meanwhile, Groves - who won 66 of his 76 fights and two ABA titles - actually beat him in their only encounter, but these stellar accomplishments were never enough to dislodge his rival from the forefront of the selectors’ minds. It could not have been easy for him sitting at home watching on TV as DeGale claimed Gold in Beijing.

Groves, 22, put it behind him and began his professional career like he was supposed to, looking leagues above the motley crew of journeymen and novices served up for him. The boxing world really began to buzz when he produced a masterclass of counter-punching and smart footwork to claim the commonwealth title by stopping Charles Adamu (17-5, 12 KOs) in the 6^th – a man who had previously gone the distance with Carl Froch. Finally, it seemed Groves had stepped out of the shadow of his local rival and looked a top prospect in his own right.

But then came his last two bouts.

Fighting on the Juan Manuel Marquez - Juan Diaz undercard in the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, he came up against Alfredo Contreras (11-9-1, 5 KOs), a boxer who had been suicidally matched for a novice (previous opponents included David Lemieux, Craig McEwan and Rigoberto Alvarez) and was actually a bit better than his record suggested. Contreras, while mostly outclassed, managed to expose worrying deficiencies in Groves’ defense – tagging him far too often - before falling to a TKO stoppage in the 6^th.

This could have been put down to a bad day at the office had it not been followed by a fight against unbeaten brawler Kenny Anderson (12-1, 8 KOs). Groves was unable to hold off the Scot with his jab and was punished time-and-again on the ropes for his non-existent defense. In the 3^rd he was floored with a left hook and was lucky to be saved by the bell moments later.

In fairness, he displayed heart and grit to turn the fight around and stop Anderson in the 6^th but his woeful defense in the a face of a half-decent pressure fighter will not be forgotten in a hurry and Groves would do well to get some more fights under his belt before facing the fast hands of arch-nemesis DeGale.

George Groves Quote:

“I want to fight James Degale. He’s destined for failure. He talks a good game but once he gets in there with someone real and someone live like me then he will be on the floor. It will be like Bernard Hopkins and Kelly Pavlik. Is this the superstar everyone has built up? I know how to take him apart mentally and physically. That’s what will happen.”

Tip for 2011

Despite the question marks raised in his last two fights, George Groves is a bright prospect and will be challenging for top honors in the future. Manager Adam Booth should put the kibosh on any immediate plans to face DeGale. Instead Groves will likely defend his commonwealth title and race DeGale to the European belt.

Frankie Gavin

Frankie ‘Funtime’ Gavin (8-0, 7 KOs) has come a long way since the bitterly disappointing end to his Olympic dream in 2008. For those not in the know, the gold medal favorite wasn’t beaten by an opponent but by the chronic mismanagement of Team Great Britain and, ultimately, the weighing scales – a crushed Gavin was sent home after failing to make the 60kg limit before the opening ceremony had even begun. The inquests and recriminations have long since passed while Gavin has begun his professional career with aplomb and - in overcoming such a setback - he has displayed the mental fortitude that helped make him Britain’s only world champion amateur boxer.

Like all novice prospects entering the professional game, light-welterweight Gavin has been matched kindly so far, but he has done everything asked of him – only tough Galway man Peter McDonagh (16-19, 2 KOs) has managed to go the distance – and on occasions he has boxed with a verve and panache that suggests he might be something special. Gavin, the son of Irish immigrants, claimed the Irish light-welterweight title against Michael Kelly (8-2-1, 2 KOs) last September and will be looking to take the British belt next.

With his offensive style – darting in-and-out with speedy, clinical combos – Gavin is sure to be a fan favorite. He just has to develop his defense – he gets caught a little too often – and continue to refrain from the party-animal lifestyle that led to the moniker ‘Funtime’. His lack of one-punch knockout power means he will never boast the highest KO ratio in the division but he is certainly no powder-puff puncher either and he has enough in the armory to threaten anybody in the division as his career progresses.

Gavin had to pull out of his last scheduled bout against Dean Harrison (16-4, 5 KOs) on December 11th due to a dose of the flu but he will be fighting again soon, probably in February, and has asked promoter Frank Warren to set up a bout with 140lb British Champion Lenny Daws.

Frankie Gavin Quote:

“I'm not saying I'm a massive puncher but I can punch hard. If anyone wants to come and spar me then they'll see that I hit hard enough!”

Tip for 2011:

2011 has come far too soon for Gavin to be considering names like Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana, Timothy Bradley or Devon Alexander but look for him to add the British title to his Irish belt.

Nathan Cleverly

2011 will be the biggest year of Nathan Cleverly’s (21-0, 10 KOs) career to date. He has already claimed the British, Commonwealth – and most recently – the interim WBO light-heavyweight belt, but this year he is going to get a crack at the title proper. The likelihood is that he will face the winner of the bout between WBO champion Juergen Braehmer (36-2, 29 KO’s) and WBA champion Beibut Shumenov (10-1, 6 KO’s), who are fighting on January 8th. With an opportunity to claim both belts, there are exciting times ahead for the brainy Welsh maths graduate.

Cleverly is an edge-of-your seat fighter in the same way Carl Froch was until he decided to dust off the old boxing skills for Arthur Abraham. He is an extremely aggressive, come-forward fighter, blitzing his opponents with fast hands and a high work-rate. So far, none of the 21 Cleverly has faced have been able to live with it – although some of that number have had no difficulty in countering him when he is marauding forward. The problem is that for every counter they land, Cleverly has usually flurried with at least three. As exciting as his fights invariably are - which smart ass just mentioned Nadjib Mohammedi (23-2, 12 KOs)? - this all-out style of attack could work to Cleverly’s detriment once he faces a bona fide knock-out artist like Braehmer. Furthermore, it’s unnecessary, the 23-year-old is a fine boxer – stinging jab, quick hands, strong chin, very mobile – he even has a tight orthodox defense when put under pressure, so he just needs to use his boxing skills more and stop getting involved in tear-ups.

The Welshman has had some decent wins; claiming the vacant European belt against iron-chinned Italian Antonio Brancalion (32-8-2, 8 KOs) and a real standout performance against contender Karo Murat (22-1, 13 KOs) on Frank Warren’s Magnificent Seven card. However, Braehmer – the favorite against Shumenov – is a different proposition entirely. Unlike Cleverly, the German has explosive fists and avoiding such bombs over the course of potentially 12 rounds will be by far the biggest test he has faced.

Nathan Cleverly Quote:

"Shumenov is the easier option for Braehmer. He's avoided me because he knows how dangerous I am. I've picked up three major belts and it's only a matter of time until I get a shot. I'm good enough."

Tip for 2011

Braehmer should beat Shumenov this week, then Cleverly will get his chance. It will be a very tough fight but he has the beating of the German if he boxes smart and curbs those Froch-esque rushes-of-blood to the head.