Sunday, 6 December 2009
Saturday, 5 December 2009
Retrospective: Kaylor vs Christie - Punch for Punch
As everyone was getting ready for Bonfire Night 1985, British Boxing fans had only one thing in mind. The British Middleweight title eliminator between West Ham's Mark Kaylor and the touted amateur from Coventry Errol Christie.
Kaylor (pictured right) was a highly touted boxer, a tough boxer-puncher with plenty of heart and skill but sometimes let his emotions get in the way of his boxing. He had held the British and Commonwealth titles, as well as the number five ranking in the world at middleweight before losing to the excellent sharpshooter Tony Sibson in a unification fight for Sibson’s European title and Kaylor’s British and Commonwealth titles.
Kaylor was now a year on from losing his titles and wanted a way back to the top. Christie was touted ever since he won the 1981 ABA final at light-middleweight. An excellent boxer with a snappy jab and a hard straight right he impressed the legendary Emanuel Steward who gave him his blessing to wear the famous golden Kronk shorts.
Christie looked in fine form before this bout, producing his career best performance in beating Barry Audia in two rounds. However he had been beaten, just once, in a first round KO loss to Jose Seys and many people felt he couldn’t take a good shot. The bout garnered huge interest because of a brawl Kaylor and Christie had outside of a casino the previous month. There was apprehension about the fight taking place due to a large threat of violence from Kaylor’s staunch support from the fans of West Ham Untied Football Club who were infamous for their hooliganism.
The previous year, 200 Kaylor fans had been ejected from the Wembley Arena following their man's loss to the brilliant Tony Sibson. However, the threat of violence was amplified due to racist undertones between the ‘white’ Kaylor fans and the ‘black’ Christie fans who himself was a black man. It did not help that there was genuine needle between the two main participants what over boiled into two instances of ‘street fighting’ outside the previously mentioned casino and at a pre-fight press conference.
However, it did make this bout one of the most anticipated British battles of the decade. For the night extra police reinforcements were called into to keep a watch of the crowd as well as Terry Lawless drafting in a security firm to mingle in with the crowd. As another precaution no alcohol was to be sold at the arena or consumed inside the arena. So the bout got under way despite the threat of violence and crowd trouble.
In front of a packed pro-Kaylor Wembley arena crowd, both boxers looked in marvellous shape. The referee, Harry Gibbs, called both fighters to the centre of the ring. Both stared straight into each other's eyes with killer intent. Gibbs motioned them back to their corners to await the bell. DING-DING! Both fighters came out into the centre of the ring and stood off each other, Kaylor then started the scoring with a lead right hand followed by a left hook to Christie's head before rolling underneath Christie’s return left hook before holding. On the break Christie got up on his toes and started to show the skills he was famous for by jabbing and moving keeping Kaylor at range with Kaylor wondering how to get inside and do damage. Christie kept jabbing as Kaylor started to narrow the distance between them and before long Kaylor slipped inside a jab and landed a straight right of his own that detonated on Christie’s jaw with sickening impact. Christie looked hurt and shaky legged as he got up at the referee's count of three and held onto the ropes to steady his uncontrollable legs. Gibbs waved them on, Kaylor was straight in on the inside landing right uppercuts to Christie but these were smothered by Christie who held on desperately. Just then perhaps mirroring what was going on in the ring a Firework exploded among the fans, fortunately no one was hurt and this was the only incident of crowd trouble the whole evening. Both boxers remained focussed on the task at hand though and did not seem to notice the distraction.
The fight seemed to take a rhythm now as Kaylor bustled forward with straight rights followed by left hooks to the body as Christie feebly tried to keep the advancing Kaylor off with a jab. As Kaylor kept advancing Christie seemed to burst into life landing a one-two combination on Kaylor’s jaw which resulted in Kaylor falling to his knees a few seconds later. But Kaylor was straight back up at a count of three and ready for more action.
Christie, like a shark smelling blood, went to work with solid one-twos and left uppercuts on the hurt Kaylor, who seemed in dire trouble. With about 15 seconds left in the round Christie advanced looking to halt Kaylor but walked on to a massive straight right which staggered him but Errol came fighting back with solid one-twos as the bell rang with a right hand landing after the bell. Kaylor clearly annoyed stuck his right glove into Christie’s face which drew a warning from Harry Gibbs. Christie returned to his corner with a cut over his left eye, however it didn’t have much bearing on the fight except colouring referee Harry Gibbs shirt a nice crimson colour.
The bell for round two was barely audible above the excited drone of the crowd. Christie came out popping his jab and moving off looking to keep to his boxing. With his jab getting more and more success Christie started landing some solid combinations off the jab, in particular his one-two, as Kaylor came forward unsuccessfully. As Christie looked in good form, an echo of ‘Forever Blowing Bubbles’ reverberated around the arena, looking to inspire Kaylor. The effect of the morale boosting chant was shown instantly as Kaylor started to counter Christie's jab as he came forward by moving his head to his right and came back with a straight right over Christie's jab and landing on his chin.
Christie, feeling the need to disrupt Kaylor’s rhythm, grabbed hold of Kaylor as he came forward. Upon the break Christie again began circling and popping the jab and landed a good right hand behind a jab. Mark Kaylor imposed himself on the inside again with some jolting uppercuts followed by some short rights. Christie managed to create some room but Kaylor cut down the space again and landed some more heavy uppercuts to head and body.
Round three, Christie again came out snapping the jab and moved away from the ever advancing Kaylor. As Kaylor advanced, Christie landed a sharp left hook on his head that got his supporters clapping. But it didn’t deter Kaylor who started slipping the jab and landing some straight rights and left hooks to head and body of Christie, before falling inside and landing some more ripping uppercuts. Christie, knowing he needed room, stepped back and feinted a jab before following through with a straight right to Kaylor’s exposed jaw. Kaylor fell backwards onto his bum and took a small rest on his haunches before rising at eight.
As soon as action restarted, Kaylor took a good hold of Christie to prevent any further punishment. As they emerged from the clinch Christie’s ripping left hook and uppercuts forced Kaylor backwards onto the ropes forcing Kaylor to grab on for survival. As the clinch broke up Christie got back on his bike, landing jabs to keep Kaylor off balance as Kaylor advanced forward landing some good hooks and uppercuts to Christie's exposed mid section.
As Christie back-pedalled a big left hook from Kaylor landed on the side of Christie’s head making Errol hold on. All of a sudden Christie was hurt and staggered forward onto a left hook to the ribs and he was shaken as he fell into the arms of Kaylor. Just as they untangled the bell rang and it couldn’t have come at a better time for Christie who wobbled back to his corner for a well needed but deserved minute's rest.
At the start of round four both guys fell into an inside fight as Kaylor landed some good left hook wallops to the head and body of Christie. Christie knowing he couldn’t beat Kaylor on the inside started to get some room and establish his jab and movement again and looked to disrupt Kaylor’s rhythm by holding when Kaylor got near. Kaylor kept pouring on however and landed some combos to head and body mixing left hooks in well.
Christie started to look more and more tired but landed a good right uppercut and made Kaylor’s retaliation attacks miss through deft head movement but Kaylor started to ignore the head and landed some powerful body shots as the pace slowed down. With about 10 seconds to go Kaylor landed a left to the body which rocked Christie to his boots and followed up with four hooks to Christie’s defenceless head just as the bell tolled. But Kaylor landed a hook just after the bell and Christie retaliated but was stopped by Gibbs who warned Kaylor in his corner for punching after the bell as Christie stormed over to Kaylor’s corner but thought better of it and turned back.
The fifth round resembled the fourth with Christie jabbing and moving and Kaylor stalking forward with combos to the head and body. The pace slowed as Christie did more moving than jabbing, not letting Kaylor near him, and could you blame him? Kaylor however landed some classy body shots that bulled Christie back to the ropes but Christie, showing his class spun off the ropes but looked very groggy as Kaylor was straight on him with solid body shots punctuated by a straight right on the bell.
Kaylor seemed to want to come on strong at the end of the rounds but seemed to run out of time making the rounds very hard to score. Again the sixth is more of the same but still brilliant to watch as Christie seemed to be a bit more rejuvenated and sprung around the ring behind a tidy jab, Kaylor still stalking forward behind some combinations off counters but really seemed to be tiring after such a high pace and having Christie looking fresher.
Christie's jab controlled the round and about mid way through it, Kaylor pinned the elusive Errol down with a one-two left hook, straight right combo but Errol came straight back with an eye-watering jab to Mark’s nose. At the conclusion of the round Kaylor got Christie on the ropes and landed a handful of body punches but it was not a good round for Kaylor. The fight seemed to have taken on a rhythm in the seventh round as Christie again looking fresh jabbed the weary looking Kaylor and controlled the ring. Early in the round Christie's jab was pinpoint accurate but Kaylor came back with some fine left hooks and Christie, as if punishing Kaylor for the left hooks, upped his own work rate and landed some combinations that oozed of silk.
Kaylor as a result looked more tired and hopeless as Christie landed a straight right that stunned Kaylor and Christie turns it on but looked very scrappy doing so and didn’t do much damage. Just as Kaylor looked hopeless he showed he was still in it by landing a classic left hook, straight right combination from nowhere that kept Christie honest. Errol heeded the warning of Kaylor and retreated to long range and landed a still jab followed by a stiffer right hand to see out round seven.
Round eight started just as any other with Christie using his sharp jab to pick off Kaylor and fast movement to keep Kaylor at long range. About 30 seconds in Kaylor exploded into action with a one-two, left hook and Christie fell forward and looked to hold onto Kaylor who sidestepped away and let Christie descend to the canvas. Christie called on every sinew of his body to rise and got to his knees and dragged himself towards the ropes at the count of six. At the count of nine he reached the ropes but the count of ten was bellowed as Christie slumped to the canvas from his knees.
Kaylor jumped in joy from his win as Christie solemnly sat in his corner getting a drink of water. The two fighters headed towards each other and embraced, erasing all that memory of bad blood between them as Christie sportingly took Kaylor’s hand and raised it skywards as the whole arena applauded both boxers' courage, fitness and sportsmanship.
Despite being an eliminator, neither man ever got another British title shot. Kaylor had limited success after the bout with two wins before taking on the European Champion at middleweight, Herol Graham and being stopped in eight rounds. Kaylor then moved up to light-heavyweight and campaigned fairly well getting two further European title shots and winning an eliminator for the British title but again the title shot never materialised.
Christie on the other hand campaigned pretty unsuccessfully after this bout going 12-6-1 but never really recapturing that amazing form he showed he was capable of and went down as an underachiever.
This bout went down as one of the greatest bouts in British history for eight rounds these two warriors went punch for punch and showed superb skills and powers of recovery. But ultimately Kaylor had too much heart for Christie and wore him down.
And this was only an eliminator for the British title. Imagine if this fight had been for the title itself?
Kaylor (pictured right) was a highly touted boxer, a tough boxer-puncher with plenty of heart and skill but sometimes let his emotions get in the way of his boxing. He had held the British and Commonwealth titles, as well as the number five ranking in the world at middleweight before losing to the excellent sharpshooter Tony Sibson in a unification fight for Sibson’s European title and Kaylor’s British and Commonwealth titles.
Kaylor was now a year on from losing his titles and wanted a way back to the top. Christie was touted ever since he won the 1981 ABA final at light-middleweight. An excellent boxer with a snappy jab and a hard straight right he impressed the legendary Emanuel Steward who gave him his blessing to wear the famous golden Kronk shorts.
Christie looked in fine form before this bout, producing his career best performance in beating Barry Audia in two rounds. However he had been beaten, just once, in a first round KO loss to Jose Seys and many people felt he couldn’t take a good shot. The bout garnered huge interest because of a brawl Kaylor and Christie had outside of a casino the previous month. There was apprehension about the fight taking place due to a large threat of violence from Kaylor’s staunch support from the fans of West Ham Untied Football Club who were infamous for their hooliganism.
The previous year, 200 Kaylor fans had been ejected from the Wembley Arena following their man's loss to the brilliant Tony Sibson. However, the threat of violence was amplified due to racist undertones between the ‘white’ Kaylor fans and the ‘black’ Christie fans who himself was a black man. It did not help that there was genuine needle between the two main participants what over boiled into two instances of ‘street fighting’ outside the previously mentioned casino and at a pre-fight press conference.
However, it did make this bout one of the most anticipated British battles of the decade. For the night extra police reinforcements were called into to keep a watch of the crowd as well as Terry Lawless drafting in a security firm to mingle in with the crowd. As another precaution no alcohol was to be sold at the arena or consumed inside the arena. So the bout got under way despite the threat of violence and crowd trouble.
In front of a packed pro-Kaylor Wembley arena crowd, both boxers looked in marvellous shape. The referee, Harry Gibbs, called both fighters to the centre of the ring. Both stared straight into each other's eyes with killer intent. Gibbs motioned them back to their corners to await the bell. DING-DING! Both fighters came out into the centre of the ring and stood off each other, Kaylor then started the scoring with a lead right hand followed by a left hook to Christie's head before rolling underneath Christie’s return left hook before holding. On the break Christie got up on his toes and started to show the skills he was famous for by jabbing and moving keeping Kaylor at range with Kaylor wondering how to get inside and do damage. Christie kept jabbing as Kaylor started to narrow the distance between them and before long Kaylor slipped inside a jab and landed a straight right of his own that detonated on Christie’s jaw with sickening impact. Christie looked hurt and shaky legged as he got up at the referee's count of three and held onto the ropes to steady his uncontrollable legs. Gibbs waved them on, Kaylor was straight in on the inside landing right uppercuts to Christie but these were smothered by Christie who held on desperately. Just then perhaps mirroring what was going on in the ring a Firework exploded among the fans, fortunately no one was hurt and this was the only incident of crowd trouble the whole evening. Both boxers remained focussed on the task at hand though and did not seem to notice the distraction.
The fight seemed to take a rhythm now as Kaylor bustled forward with straight rights followed by left hooks to the body as Christie feebly tried to keep the advancing Kaylor off with a jab. As Kaylor kept advancing Christie seemed to burst into life landing a one-two combination on Kaylor’s jaw which resulted in Kaylor falling to his knees a few seconds later. But Kaylor was straight back up at a count of three and ready for more action.
Christie, like a shark smelling blood, went to work with solid one-twos and left uppercuts on the hurt Kaylor, who seemed in dire trouble. With about 15 seconds left in the round Christie advanced looking to halt Kaylor but walked on to a massive straight right which staggered him but Errol came fighting back with solid one-twos as the bell rang with a right hand landing after the bell. Kaylor clearly annoyed stuck his right glove into Christie’s face which drew a warning from Harry Gibbs. Christie returned to his corner with a cut over his left eye, however it didn’t have much bearing on the fight except colouring referee Harry Gibbs shirt a nice crimson colour.
The bell for round two was barely audible above the excited drone of the crowd. Christie came out popping his jab and moving off looking to keep to his boxing. With his jab getting more and more success Christie started landing some solid combinations off the jab, in particular his one-two, as Kaylor came forward unsuccessfully. As Christie looked in good form, an echo of ‘Forever Blowing Bubbles’ reverberated around the arena, looking to inspire Kaylor. The effect of the morale boosting chant was shown instantly as Kaylor started to counter Christie's jab as he came forward by moving his head to his right and came back with a straight right over Christie's jab and landing on his chin.
Christie, feeling the need to disrupt Kaylor’s rhythm, grabbed hold of Kaylor as he came forward. Upon the break Christie again began circling and popping the jab and landed a good right hand behind a jab. Mark Kaylor imposed himself on the inside again with some jolting uppercuts followed by some short rights. Christie managed to create some room but Kaylor cut down the space again and landed some more heavy uppercuts to head and body.
Round three, Christie again came out snapping the jab and moved away from the ever advancing Kaylor. As Kaylor advanced, Christie landed a sharp left hook on his head that got his supporters clapping. But it didn’t deter Kaylor who started slipping the jab and landing some straight rights and left hooks to head and body of Christie, before falling inside and landing some more ripping uppercuts. Christie, knowing he needed room, stepped back and feinted a jab before following through with a straight right to Kaylor’s exposed jaw. Kaylor fell backwards onto his bum and took a small rest on his haunches before rising at eight.
As soon as action restarted, Kaylor took a good hold of Christie to prevent any further punishment. As they emerged from the clinch Christie’s ripping left hook and uppercuts forced Kaylor backwards onto the ropes forcing Kaylor to grab on for survival. As the clinch broke up Christie got back on his bike, landing jabs to keep Kaylor off balance as Kaylor advanced forward landing some good hooks and uppercuts to Christie's exposed mid section.
As Christie back-pedalled a big left hook from Kaylor landed on the side of Christie’s head making Errol hold on. All of a sudden Christie was hurt and staggered forward onto a left hook to the ribs and he was shaken as he fell into the arms of Kaylor. Just as they untangled the bell rang and it couldn’t have come at a better time for Christie who wobbled back to his corner for a well needed but deserved minute's rest.
At the start of round four both guys fell into an inside fight as Kaylor landed some good left hook wallops to the head and body of Christie. Christie knowing he couldn’t beat Kaylor on the inside started to get some room and establish his jab and movement again and looked to disrupt Kaylor’s rhythm by holding when Kaylor got near. Kaylor kept pouring on however and landed some combos to head and body mixing left hooks in well.
Christie started to look more and more tired but landed a good right uppercut and made Kaylor’s retaliation attacks miss through deft head movement but Kaylor started to ignore the head and landed some powerful body shots as the pace slowed down. With about 10 seconds to go Kaylor landed a left to the body which rocked Christie to his boots and followed up with four hooks to Christie’s defenceless head just as the bell tolled. But Kaylor landed a hook just after the bell and Christie retaliated but was stopped by Gibbs who warned Kaylor in his corner for punching after the bell as Christie stormed over to Kaylor’s corner but thought better of it and turned back.
The fifth round resembled the fourth with Christie jabbing and moving and Kaylor stalking forward with combos to the head and body. The pace slowed as Christie did more moving than jabbing, not letting Kaylor near him, and could you blame him? Kaylor however landed some classy body shots that bulled Christie back to the ropes but Christie, showing his class spun off the ropes but looked very groggy as Kaylor was straight on him with solid body shots punctuated by a straight right on the bell.
Kaylor seemed to want to come on strong at the end of the rounds but seemed to run out of time making the rounds very hard to score. Again the sixth is more of the same but still brilliant to watch as Christie seemed to be a bit more rejuvenated and sprung around the ring behind a tidy jab, Kaylor still stalking forward behind some combinations off counters but really seemed to be tiring after such a high pace and having Christie looking fresher.
Christie's jab controlled the round and about mid way through it, Kaylor pinned the elusive Errol down with a one-two left hook, straight right combo but Errol came straight back with an eye-watering jab to Mark’s nose. At the conclusion of the round Kaylor got Christie on the ropes and landed a handful of body punches but it was not a good round for Kaylor. The fight seemed to have taken on a rhythm in the seventh round as Christie again looking fresh jabbed the weary looking Kaylor and controlled the ring. Early in the round Christie's jab was pinpoint accurate but Kaylor came back with some fine left hooks and Christie, as if punishing Kaylor for the left hooks, upped his own work rate and landed some combinations that oozed of silk.
Kaylor as a result looked more tired and hopeless as Christie landed a straight right that stunned Kaylor and Christie turns it on but looked very scrappy doing so and didn’t do much damage. Just as Kaylor looked hopeless he showed he was still in it by landing a classic left hook, straight right combination from nowhere that kept Christie honest. Errol heeded the warning of Kaylor and retreated to long range and landed a still jab followed by a stiffer right hand to see out round seven.
Round eight started just as any other with Christie using his sharp jab to pick off Kaylor and fast movement to keep Kaylor at long range. About 30 seconds in Kaylor exploded into action with a one-two, left hook and Christie fell forward and looked to hold onto Kaylor who sidestepped away and let Christie descend to the canvas. Christie called on every sinew of his body to rise and got to his knees and dragged himself towards the ropes at the count of six. At the count of nine he reached the ropes but the count of ten was bellowed as Christie slumped to the canvas from his knees.
Kaylor jumped in joy from his win as Christie solemnly sat in his corner getting a drink of water. The two fighters headed towards each other and embraced, erasing all that memory of bad blood between them as Christie sportingly took Kaylor’s hand and raised it skywards as the whole arena applauded both boxers' courage, fitness and sportsmanship.
Despite being an eliminator, neither man ever got another British title shot. Kaylor had limited success after the bout with two wins before taking on the European Champion at middleweight, Herol Graham and being stopped in eight rounds. Kaylor then moved up to light-heavyweight and campaigned fairly well getting two further European title shots and winning an eliminator for the British title but again the title shot never materialised.
Christie on the other hand campaigned pretty unsuccessfully after this bout going 12-6-1 but never really recapturing that amazing form he showed he was capable of and went down as an underachiever.
This bout went down as one of the greatest bouts in British history for eight rounds these two warriors went punch for punch and showed superb skills and powers of recovery. But ultimately Kaylor had too much heart for Christie and wore him down.
And this was only an eliminator for the British title. Imagine if this fight had been for the title itself?
Monday, 23 November 2009
Unbeaten Scottish Prospect Craig McEwan gets a good test
Scotland's best prospect at the moment Craig McEwan gets a good match up when he fights San Diegos James Parison on the Bute vs Andrade 2 undercard.
McEwan who left Scotland to train with Freddy Roach is a brillaint prospect. A tall lanky southpaw with a classical boxing style. I will be honest i know nothing about Parison's except what McEwan has said about him:
" Jamie Parison is greatly admired as a boxer over here but I believe that I have enough artillery in my arsenal to beat him."
McEwan has been working hard in the LA Wildcard gym and looks tobe improving in every fight. He has started getting more coverage mainly headlining an ESPN Friday Night Fight vs Darnell Boone earlier this year. This is another great oppertunity for the Scot to showcase his talent. This is the first time he has fought since his mooted bout with Vernon Forrest fell through due to the atrocious death of Forrest.
I can not anaylisise this fight but look for it to be a chance for Craig to showcase himself to a wide audience and make his homeland proud. He is just on the verge of cracking the Light Middleweight top 10. And expect McEwan with a superstar team behind him consisting of Golden Boy promotions as his promoter and Freddy Roach as his manager, he looks destined for success. Promoter De La Hoya has alot of faith in Craig:
"Oscar dropped into The Wildcard and as soon as he saw that I was there he came straight over to speak to me and wish me well. He told me that he would be in Quebec next Saturday to cheer me on!"
Explains McEwan.
Scottish boxing has a bright future ahead with Craig leading the way.
McEwan who left Scotland to train with Freddy Roach is a brillaint prospect. A tall lanky southpaw with a classical boxing style. I will be honest i know nothing about Parison's except what McEwan has said about him:
" Jamie Parison is greatly admired as a boxer over here but I believe that I have enough artillery in my arsenal to beat him."
McEwan has been working hard in the LA Wildcard gym and looks tobe improving in every fight. He has started getting more coverage mainly headlining an ESPN Friday Night Fight vs Darnell Boone earlier this year. This is another great oppertunity for the Scot to showcase his talent. This is the first time he has fought since his mooted bout with Vernon Forrest fell through due to the atrocious death of Forrest.
I can not anaylisise this fight but look for it to be a chance for Craig to showcase himself to a wide audience and make his homeland proud. He is just on the verge of cracking the Light Middleweight top 10. And expect McEwan with a superstar team behind him consisting of Golden Boy promotions as his promoter and Freddy Roach as his manager, he looks destined for success. Promoter De La Hoya has alot of faith in Craig:
"Oscar dropped into The Wildcard and as soon as he saw that I was there he came straight over to speak to me and wish me well. He told me that he would be in Quebec next Saturday to cheer me on!"
Explains McEwan.
Scottish boxing has a bright future ahead with Craig leading the way.
Sunday, 22 November 2009
The Fierce Eagle - Yoko Gushiken, The Master of the Light Flyweights
The ‘Fierce Eagle’ just brings connotations to your mind of a magnificent bird circling its prey looking for the right time to strike with save intensity. This ring moniker suited Yoko Gushiken to a tee. A brilliant ring general with a huge punch in both hands and an astonishing turn of pace.
A friend of mine describes watching Gushiken as an experience and he is right. The first time you watch this master in the ring you are transfixed to his excellence. He is not the most exciting fighter or a very flashy one but by lord is he excellent to watch.
The first thing that strikes you when you watch Gushiken is his marvellous ring generalship. He moves round the ring like the eagle circling its prey. He slowly makes openings and starts to control his prey through his brilliant mastery of distance. Once he has his prey where he wants him he strikes with relentless ferocity, exploding from long range with long straight shots from his southpaw stance. The straight left being his money punch. After he has landed his combination with laser like precision he bounces back out to continue circling his prey.
Gushiken is one of the most composed fighters I have seen in the ring. He is so relaxed but yet always ready to strike. It sounds a weird mix his style and believe me it is hard to describe but it really is a very pleasant style to watch.
His combinations are another great thing about him. Very rarely does he throw single shots he almost always explodes into 4 or 5 punch combinations. These combinations are mainly composed of right hooks and straight lefts all thrown with such proficiency. They are sharp combinations the type that do real damage as they catch an opponent unaware and Gushiken has full extension on his shots so inflicts maximum damage. This is what attracts him to fans that are not so aware of intricate ring generalship and tactics. Gushiken is definitely one of the best combinational punchers I have seen at Light Flyweight just threw the sheer accuracy of them and the damage they inflict.
His whole style of boxing is controlled but you feel the sense of him about to explode at any minute into a combination. Like a lid on a can about to burst. His explosions come out in super accurate controlled combinations, but this underlying anger comes through when he hurts his man as he throws relentlessly but still keeps his technique and precision. His merciless attack is a sight to behold. When his man is dropped from the attack Yoko can't seem to controll himself and 90% of the time lands a glancing shot when his oppoennt is on the floor which is very odd for such a controlled boxer.
Well, thats Yoko Gushiken the afroed master of the Light Flyweights. Many people rate him the bst Light Flyweight that ever lived i would disagree and say the fantastic Jung-Koo Chang holds that honour but Gushiken is second on my list just a fantastic fighter.
A friend of mine describes watching Gushiken as an experience and he is right. The first time you watch this master in the ring you are transfixed to his excellence. He is not the most exciting fighter or a very flashy one but by lord is he excellent to watch.
The first thing that strikes you when you watch Gushiken is his marvellous ring generalship. He moves round the ring like the eagle circling its prey. He slowly makes openings and starts to control his prey through his brilliant mastery of distance. Once he has his prey where he wants him he strikes with relentless ferocity, exploding from long range with long straight shots from his southpaw stance. The straight left being his money punch. After he has landed his combination with laser like precision he bounces back out to continue circling his prey.
Gushiken is one of the most composed fighters I have seen in the ring. He is so relaxed but yet always ready to strike. It sounds a weird mix his style and believe me it is hard to describe but it really is a very pleasant style to watch.
His combinations are another great thing about him. Very rarely does he throw single shots he almost always explodes into 4 or 5 punch combinations. These combinations are mainly composed of right hooks and straight lefts all thrown with such proficiency. They are sharp combinations the type that do real damage as they catch an opponent unaware and Gushiken has full extension on his shots so inflicts maximum damage. This is what attracts him to fans that are not so aware of intricate ring generalship and tactics. Gushiken is definitely one of the best combinational punchers I have seen at Light Flyweight just threw the sheer accuracy of them and the damage they inflict.
His whole style of boxing is controlled but you feel the sense of him about to explode at any minute into a combination. Like a lid on a can about to burst. His explosions come out in super accurate controlled combinations, but this underlying anger comes through when he hurts his man as he throws relentlessly but still keeps his technique and precision. His merciless attack is a sight to behold. When his man is dropped from the attack Yoko can't seem to controll himself and 90% of the time lands a glancing shot when his oppoennt is on the floor which is very odd for such a controlled boxer.
Well, thats Yoko Gushiken the afroed master of the Light Flyweights. Many people rate him the bst Light Flyweight that ever lived i would disagree and say the fantastic Jung-Koo Chang holds that honour but Gushiken is second on my list just a fantastic fighter.
Monday, 16 November 2009
The Perfect Boxer-Puncher - Yuri Arbahakov
When you say 'Boxer-Puncher' to me i instantly think of Alexis Arguello, to me he is the epitome of the Boxer-Puncher style. He was the patient boxer who in his case looked to counter behind his long jab like the boxer but also looked to hurt his opponent and was relentless in finishing him like the puncher. But he was not the perfect Boxer-Puncher as it signifies a whole range of varieties on the style but Arguello was abit more puncher than boxer.
Others would say Thomas Hearns is the best boxer puncher but i feel he was either a boxer or a puncher. He seemed to either look to bomb a guy out or to box his head off he never really managed to combine the two aspects into one style. Others might say Carlos Ortiz or Jose Napoles, the debate is endless.
However, i think i have found THE boxer-puncher. His name is Yuri Arbachakov a long time WBC Flyweight champion in the 1990's. He was a brillaint Soviet amateur but moved to Asia to start his professional career a he felt it was a better area for lighter weight fighters.
His style is brillaint to watch an almost perfect textbook boxer. He keeps his hands high, his feet the sme distance apart etc... In other words he has excellant fundamentals. Besides from this he had brillaint movement and excellant technical skills in both offence and defence. He came forward just as good as he did as he boxed on his back foot. He combined this all well to be a brilliant boxer, but what he also had was genuine concussive 1 punch power, especially in his right, which is rare for such a little guy. It made him in my eyes the best Boxer-Puncher.
He wasnt too much of a boxer or a puncher he combined it well. He would box to suss out his opponent and measure him before boxing to try and set up his punching and combinations. When he did set up his shots he would come into life with a hard straight right that often finished off his opponents with one decisive blow. When he got his opponent hurt he went about his work with the clean, effective almost hitman like precision. He would slowly pick the helpless opponent apart with hard, vicious blows usually resulting in the end.
Now Arbackakov dosent usually get mentioned alot among fight fans, this is because a general lack of knowledge in him. He was an Asian-based Flyweight, and most fight fans are more in tune with the American based heavier weights which is a great shame as greats like Arbackakov and others like Yoko Gushiken, Myung Woo Yuh and Jung-Koo Chang are almsot forgotten about.
Others would say Thomas Hearns is the best boxer puncher but i feel he was either a boxer or a puncher. He seemed to either look to bomb a guy out or to box his head off he never really managed to combine the two aspects into one style. Others might say Carlos Ortiz or Jose Napoles, the debate is endless.
However, i think i have found THE boxer-puncher. His name is Yuri Arbachakov a long time WBC Flyweight champion in the 1990's. He was a brillaint Soviet amateur but moved to Asia to start his professional career a he felt it was a better area for lighter weight fighters.
His style is brillaint to watch an almost perfect textbook boxer. He keeps his hands high, his feet the sme distance apart etc... In other words he has excellant fundamentals. Besides from this he had brillaint movement and excellant technical skills in both offence and defence. He came forward just as good as he did as he boxed on his back foot. He combined this all well to be a brilliant boxer, but what he also had was genuine concussive 1 punch power, especially in his right, which is rare for such a little guy. It made him in my eyes the best Boxer-Puncher.
He wasnt too much of a boxer or a puncher he combined it well. He would box to suss out his opponent and measure him before boxing to try and set up his punching and combinations. When he did set up his shots he would come into life with a hard straight right that often finished off his opponents with one decisive blow. When he got his opponent hurt he went about his work with the clean, effective almost hitman like precision. He would slowly pick the helpless opponent apart with hard, vicious blows usually resulting in the end.
Now Arbackakov dosent usually get mentioned alot among fight fans, this is because a general lack of knowledge in him. He was an Asian-based Flyweight, and most fight fans are more in tune with the American based heavier weights which is a great shame as greats like Arbackakov and others like Yoko Gushiken, Myung Woo Yuh and Jung-Koo Chang are almsot forgotten about.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Paul Butlin Interview
Paul Butlin is a hard working Heavyweight from Melton Mowbray in the midlands of England. He started boxing at 24, after training in martial arts, and turned pro at 26 so has been learning on the job so far, his 12-9 record does not show his boxing ability.
On the 20th of June he faces arguably his toughest fight to date against the highly touted Kronk fighter Jonathan Banks on the undercard of Klitschko vs Chageav. Banks recently fought Tomas Adamek for the IBF Cruiserweight title and gave a brave showing before being knocked out in the 8th by the Ring Magazine Cruiserweight champion, but against Butlin he is fighting at Heavyweight.
Paul is ready for the fight saying, “ I boxed a 8 rounder a few weeks ago (vs Derek Chisora) and a 10 rounder a few weeks before that (vs Lee Swaby) so that’s 18 rounds in a month so I’m ready.”
Paul is going to Germany to win, He said that Banks was a stylish boxer but “He won’t be able to be stylish when a 17 stone man is in front of him.” Paul’s attitude is a credit to the sport as he is always willing to learn and promises to throw more punches this fight and said “I have been working on my overhand right, He (Banks) carries his left low.” He is up for this fight as he was honest about that “It is not good money but it is a great opportunity to fight in front of 60,000 people.”
This isn’t the first time he has boxed in Germany; he fought the rising German Prospect Sebastion Koebar in February of 2008. Sebastian beat him on an Unanimous decision over 8 rounds but Paul disputes that.
“I beat Koebar, there were two guys in my team who said I won, there were two European officials who said I deserved the victory and Micky Vann said I deserved a draw. It was disgusting.”
However he still likes fighting in Europe as he says, “You are well looked after.” And “The money is good.”
He also has a little surprise in store for the German crowd on the 20th of June.
“I’m going to go to the ring with a German football top on, I’ll get cheered there (In Germany) but my mates wont like it. I’ll probably get hate mail when I get home.”
Also on the bill is Michael Sprott who faces the unbeaten Alexander Ustinov. So even if David Haye has pulled out of the fight with Wladimir Klitschko, we still have two Brits to support that night.
On the 20th of June he faces arguably his toughest fight to date against the highly touted Kronk fighter Jonathan Banks on the undercard of Klitschko vs Chageav. Banks recently fought Tomas Adamek for the IBF Cruiserweight title and gave a brave showing before being knocked out in the 8th by the Ring Magazine Cruiserweight champion, but against Butlin he is fighting at Heavyweight.
Paul is ready for the fight saying, “ I boxed a 8 rounder a few weeks ago (vs Derek Chisora) and a 10 rounder a few weeks before that (vs Lee Swaby) so that’s 18 rounds in a month so I’m ready.”
Paul is going to Germany to win, He said that Banks was a stylish boxer but “He won’t be able to be stylish when a 17 stone man is in front of him.” Paul’s attitude is a credit to the sport as he is always willing to learn and promises to throw more punches this fight and said “I have been working on my overhand right, He (Banks) carries his left low.” He is up for this fight as he was honest about that “It is not good money but it is a great opportunity to fight in front of 60,000 people.”
This isn’t the first time he has boxed in Germany; he fought the rising German Prospect Sebastion Koebar in February of 2008. Sebastian beat him on an Unanimous decision over 8 rounds but Paul disputes that.
“I beat Koebar, there were two guys in my team who said I won, there were two European officials who said I deserved the victory and Micky Vann said I deserved a draw. It was disgusting.”
However he still likes fighting in Europe as he says, “You are well looked after.” And “The money is good.”
He also has a little surprise in store for the German crowd on the 20th of June.
“I’m going to go to the ring with a German football top on, I’ll get cheered there (In Germany) but my mates wont like it. I’ll probably get hate mail when I get home.”
Also on the bill is Michael Sprott who faces the unbeaten Alexander Ustinov. So even if David Haye has pulled out of the fight with Wladimir Klitschko, we still have two Brits to support that night.
Bradley vs Campbell - The Changing Battle
Saturday the 1st of August brings us a potential Fight of the Year
between Timothy Bradley and Nate Campbell for the formers WBO Light Welterweight title.
In boxing there’s a famous cliché of the old, maybe even unmotivated, champion fighting the young upstart contender. Well in this fight the roles are reversed Nate Campbell is an outspoken Granddad who having giving up the Lightweight championship has moved to Light Welterweight to fight the polite and determined Timothy Bradley.
Campbell has been a perennial contender at Lightweight for what has seemed like decades and after 2 failed chances before he proved to be third time lucky in upsetting the rising star Juan Diaz in a barnburner. Nate has now tasted the success and is determined to recapture it up at Light Welterweight.
Timothy Bradley came out of nowhere to defeat the tricky and experienced WBC Light Welterweight champion Junior Witter to take his belt. Since winning this title the determined, devout Christian Bradley has defended it twice against Edner Cherry (UD over 12) and in a unification against the brilliant but lazy Kendall Holt (UD over 12). After partially unifying the championships Bradley was forced to give up his WBC title. Bradley is the rising star of the division and is one of boxing’s hottest prospects as an undefeated, young champion but so was Juan Diaz when he fought Campbell.
The style clash in this fight is an interesting one. They are both pressure fighters as well as good classic boxers. Both of them are excellent athletes in terms of speed, strength and stamina. Bradley is
an aggressive pressure fighter who uses his fast hands and feet to score quick flurries. Campbell is more of a steady aggressive boxer putting on a more subtle pressure, however Campbell often fights his
opponents fight instead of his own but he has shown he can beat his opponent at their own game.
Both fighters have weaknesses and strengths that counteract each other. A major factor in this fight will be who can capitalise on his opponent’s weakness and use their own strengths to their advantage.
Nate Campbell thrives on fighting his opponents fight and beating him at it so perhaps Nate Campbell couldplay into Bradleys’ hands in doing so.
This fight, I think, will be a great one – a possible fight of the year as I mentioned before. The early rounds will start with Campbell trying to make a statement perhaps taking the fight in close quarters. Bradley
often squares up when in close and this will play into Nates’hands as Bradley will be off balance and not in a position to gain leverage in his punches. Bradley however has very fast hands and could pose
problems early for Campbell who will have to adjust to his speed and time him accordingly. The early rounds I feel will be fought in close with Campbell gaining the edge.
Bradley showed when he fought Kendall Holt he can adapt in fights and this is what he will have to do. The middle rounds will become more interesting as Bradley will have adjusted and will try to use his foot speed to get in and out with fast flurries. In doing so Bradley will be forced to lead and he has some major flaws when leading. He throws his jab and drops it after he’s thrown it. Campbell has a expert right hook counter uncommon to most fighters which will be able to find a home over Bradleys left hand. Bradley’s speed however should help him here and maybe just let him edge these sessions.
If you think the middle rounds will be interesting the late rounds will be fascinating. Both fighters will know each others style better and have made the necessary adjustments. I think Bradley, who has superb fitness, will try to carry the fight to Campbell who at 37 might lack the stamina of the younger fighter. However as Bradley carries a fight forward he can lack concentration and be caught with silly shots as he
advances, Campbell being an old and clever pro will be more than happy to take advantage of these openings.
In the end it will come down to who can make the adjustments and perhaps who wants to make the adjustments. I feel each fighter can beat the other so its hard to pick a winner. This is a great fight for boxing as this is a well matched, exciting fight and a brave defence for a young champion like Bradley. As much as I would like to say the young focused Bradley to win I feel Nate Campbell will just edge it in a split decision. However that won’t be the end of Bradley as a young determined fighter like himself will not give up after a loss and will strive to be the best as he is doing now.
between Timothy Bradley and Nate Campbell for the formers WBO Light Welterweight title.
In boxing there’s a famous cliché of the old, maybe even unmotivated, champion fighting the young upstart contender. Well in this fight the roles are reversed Nate Campbell is an outspoken Granddad who having giving up the Lightweight championship has moved to Light Welterweight to fight the polite and determined Timothy Bradley.
Campbell has been a perennial contender at Lightweight for what has seemed like decades and after 2 failed chances before he proved to be third time lucky in upsetting the rising star Juan Diaz in a barnburner. Nate has now tasted the success and is determined to recapture it up at Light Welterweight.
Timothy Bradley came out of nowhere to defeat the tricky and experienced WBC Light Welterweight champion Junior Witter to take his belt. Since winning this title the determined, devout Christian Bradley has defended it twice against Edner Cherry (UD over 12) and in a unification against the brilliant but lazy Kendall Holt (UD over 12). After partially unifying the championships Bradley was forced to give up his WBC title. Bradley is the rising star of the division and is one of boxing’s hottest prospects as an undefeated, young champion but so was Juan Diaz when he fought Campbell.
The style clash in this fight is an interesting one. They are both pressure fighters as well as good classic boxers. Both of them are excellent athletes in terms of speed, strength and stamina. Bradley is
an aggressive pressure fighter who uses his fast hands and feet to score quick flurries. Campbell is more of a steady aggressive boxer putting on a more subtle pressure, however Campbell often fights his
opponents fight instead of his own but he has shown he can beat his opponent at their own game.
Both fighters have weaknesses and strengths that counteract each other. A major factor in this fight will be who can capitalise on his opponent’s weakness and use their own strengths to their advantage.
Nate Campbell thrives on fighting his opponents fight and beating him at it so perhaps Nate Campbell couldplay into Bradleys’ hands in doing so.
This fight, I think, will be a great one – a possible fight of the year as I mentioned before. The early rounds will start with Campbell trying to make a statement perhaps taking the fight in close quarters. Bradley
often squares up when in close and this will play into Nates’hands as Bradley will be off balance and not in a position to gain leverage in his punches. Bradley however has very fast hands and could pose
problems early for Campbell who will have to adjust to his speed and time him accordingly. The early rounds I feel will be fought in close with Campbell gaining the edge.
Bradley showed when he fought Kendall Holt he can adapt in fights and this is what he will have to do. The middle rounds will become more interesting as Bradley will have adjusted and will try to use his foot speed to get in and out with fast flurries. In doing so Bradley will be forced to lead and he has some major flaws when leading. He throws his jab and drops it after he’s thrown it. Campbell has a expert right hook counter uncommon to most fighters which will be able to find a home over Bradleys left hand. Bradley’s speed however should help him here and maybe just let him edge these sessions.
If you think the middle rounds will be interesting the late rounds will be fascinating. Both fighters will know each others style better and have made the necessary adjustments. I think Bradley, who has superb fitness, will try to carry the fight to Campbell who at 37 might lack the stamina of the younger fighter. However as Bradley carries a fight forward he can lack concentration and be caught with silly shots as he
advances, Campbell being an old and clever pro will be more than happy to take advantage of these openings.
In the end it will come down to who can make the adjustments and perhaps who wants to make the adjustments. I feel each fighter can beat the other so its hard to pick a winner. This is a great fight for boxing as this is a well matched, exciting fight and a brave defence for a young champion like Bradley. As much as I would like to say the young focused Bradley to win I feel Nate Campbell will just edge it in a split decision. However that won’t be the end of Bradley as a young determined fighter like himself will not give up after a loss and will strive to be the best as he is doing now.
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