A Great Kick Off to the 4th Quarter

Does it not feel great to get a nice, cold drink of water after a long walk through the desert? The boxing world hit the water bottle hard with a great weekend of boxing to kick off what looks to be a promising and exciting final quarter of 2012.

Continents and countries joined forces to provide one great night of boxing. On HBO, we saw another dominant performance by Vitali Klitschko, Antonio Demarco and most impressive, Andre Ward. In a main event that stirred up very even predictions, we saw a man make a statement. This statement was not sweet and subtle. Make any excuse you would like for Bad Chad Dawson, Andre Ward threw his name into a top 3 pound for pound champion. After dominating great fighters in the Super-Six, Ward continued to say that the best is still ahead.

What was ahead was a force many people did not fore see. Ward broke Dawson, a fighter with a challenging style and phenomenal skills, mentally and physically. A performance of that magnitude is only showcased by the best. Andre Ward is one of boxing’s best. Let us anticipate his return. The one downside to his dominant performance Martinez-Chavez Jr. has some big shoes to fill following up a show
like the one Ward gave us.

In other interesting fights, heavyweights heated up the scene in a stormy afternoon in Newark, NJ. Bryant Jennings, a quickly rising heavyweight, only needed the first minute of round one to knockout Chris Koval. Luckily, Jennings got a little more air time later that evening as HBO showed him as one of America’s top rising heavyweight prospects.
A quick return will be nice to see as Jennings has yet to fail to put on a firework filled fight.

Steve Cunningham stepped up to his first fight at heavyweight as he squared off against Jason Gavern, a journeyman who has fought (and lost) to some of the top rising heavyweight contenders around the world. A game Gavern was a great first test to Cunningham who looked to carry the extra muscle on his very lean frame well. A tall, fast and skilled Cunningham will be interesting in the heavyweight division. When the competition steps up, everyone will be focused on his chin. A world class athlete deserves the chance to step up and show the world what he can do. Hopefully he gets the chance to fight Tomasz Adamek and avenge a loss that he has looked to do for so many
years.

Speaking of Adamek, it was a rare occasion boxing fans witnessed as Adamek was floored by Travis Walker. Adamek, who was fought significantly larger and stronger opponents, rarely hits the canvas. In round 2, a beautifully placed right hand dropped and seriously hurt Adamek. As Walker has done in the past, he rushed in and sloppily tried to finish off Goral. With 2:30 on the clock, Walker punched and punched with little success. No composure, no patience and a loss of technique led to another knockdown that instead had Walker on his hands and knees. Adamek regained his legs, began timing Walker, and put together a combination of finishing moves that allowed the referee
to step in and stop the bout in the 5th. Adamek is a fan favorite and exciting heavyweight. A fight with Cunningham at cruiserweight was great, a heavyweight rematch would be equally as exciting. Let us see what the future holds.

With September 8th in our pocket, let us enjoy the major fights in our near future, appreciate the up and coming prospects and future stars.

In a final note, please support your pay-per-view boxing. Very rarely do we see matches that of Chavez Jr.-Martinez. Canelo Alvarez deserves support as well, but to ensure that we see another mega fight on the level of Chavez Jr.-Martinez, supports the pay-per-view scene. A fight of this magnitude needs all the support boxing can provide.