Friday, 18 March 2011

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.

Monday, 7 March 2011

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.