JE Boxing

Pacquiao to solve the Marquez puzzle

Published on 2011-11-11 09:27:00

By JE Grant The fabled HBO prelude to major pay-per-view fights, 24/7, is built around the premise that two giants of boxing are to meet in a bout that is really too hard to predict. As the HBO follows the teams of Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in preparation for their third meeting, that task is ostensibly made easier. After all, the first two engagements resulted in crazed efforts by both that led to controversial decisions.The key differences in Saturday’s encounter center on w

World Boxing Council – The second stripping of Timothy Bradley

Published on 2011-07-30 18:55:00

By JE GrantThe recent second stripping of Timothy Bradley’s WBC portion of his junior welterweight title is merely the latest example of an organization that is boldly acting in an anti-boxer mode that has no bounds.In media reports, president-for-life (apparently) Jose Sulaiman took the belt due to Bradley’s “inactive” status since winning the title in January, his stated “desire to move up in weight,” and “legal issues surrounding his career.” These factors led the “Board of

Klitschko may be Goliath but is Haye David?

Published on 2011-06-27 21:17:00

By JE GrantSaturday’s bout in Germany is billed - maybe hoped is the right word - to be Wladimir Klitschko’s first real challenge in a long-time as he faces a verbally combative David Haye.Haye, once the undisputed cruiserweight champion, feasted on opponents of assorted talent levels early in his career, losing only to Carl Thompson. Displaying above average speed and power, he toppled the talented Jean Marc Mormeck and Enzo Maccarenilli to garner all the available belts at cruiserweight.&n

Froch and Johnson clash in Super 6 semis – Froch’s title on the line

Published on 2011-06-04 10:51:00

By JE GrantThe great outcome of the Super Six tournament is that top-level fighters are facing each other repeatedly and with some unexpected results.Carl Froch is the top beneficiary of the tournament’s design.   Before the tournament, some critics, saw his awkward style as indicative of limited ability. The fact that he possessed one of the many title belts did not bolster his case. Such is the state of boxing today that even a title belt often indicates very little.Of course he di

Hopkins faces Pascal and history in Montreal

Published on 2011-05-20 21:00:00

By JE GrantPhiladelphia’s Bernard Hopkins seeks to not only overcome light-heavyweight champion Canadian Jean Pascal in Montreal Saturday night but also Pascal’s friend Father Time.With a victory Hopkins, 46, will become the oldest man to ever win a title, surpassing George Foreman’s record set in 1994 with his knockout of defending heavyweight champion Michael Moorer. Most boxing observers once believed that with back-to-back middleweight title losses to Jermain Taylor that the natural do

Abraham and Ward clash in Super-Six semi-finals

Published on 2011-05-13 17:22:00

By JE Grant -  http://twitter.com/jeboxing    The brilliance of Super Six is that it has generated stiff tests of our judgments about each of the participants. Amazingly corrupt sanctioning bodies often allow the top echelon fighters to never cross paths, all the while defending “world” titles of rapidly diminishing value.Fighters, promoters and managers of the Super Six richly deserve credit for working through the complexities of international boxing politics to push these m

Adamek faces a giant in the path to Klitschko

Published on 2011-04-09 11:30:00

By JE GrantPoland’s Tomasz Adamek’s  march to the brothers Klitschko continues tonight as he faces giant Irishman Kevin McBride in Newark’s Prudential Center. A win means a certain shot later this years against someone named Klitschko.Whatever one considers his chances when he clashes with one of the brothers – presumably Vitali first – no one can doubt his resolve. In previous title reigns in the light-heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions, his grit and determination have remai

Klitschko – Solis: Battle of the Ages or Marking Time?

Published on 2011-03-19 08:36:00

By JE GrantVitali Klitschko, the elder of the increasingly fabled Klitschko brothers, continues to defy odds as he creeps ever so close to 40 in a sport in which that age is considered ancient. Nevertheless, when he meets 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Olanier Solis Saturday in Cologne, he enters as a decided favorite.When one considers the drubbing a 38-year-old Muhammad Ali took from Larry Holmes in 1980 or the crushing stoppage of 40-year-old Evander Holyfield by James Toney in 2003, one has to w

Hopkins races past Pascal, stuck with draw

Published on 2010-12-19 10:19:00

By JE GrantAgeless wonder Bernard Hopkins delivered his best performance in years against reigning light-heavyweight champion Jean Pascal Saturday night in Quebec City only to be denied the title by a puzzling draw.The 45-year-old Hopkins did make the scoring difficult by twice hitting the deck. One of those official knockdowns, toward the end of round one, was dubious at best. He was clearly cuffed behind the head and the trip to the canvas should have been ruled a result of an illegal punch an

Froch, Abraham meet in 'Super Six'

Published on 2010-11-24 14:53:00

By JE Grant Super middleweights Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham continue their struggle to remain in the ‘Super Six’ tournament and capture a belt along the way Saturday in Helsinki. The Englishman Froch, 26-1 (20 KOs), a quirky, odd-punching former belt-holder, looks to redeem himself after falling (way) short against skilled Mikkel Kessler in a decision loss in April. With the loss, Froch also dropped a belt --- which will likely prove as less valuable than winning the tournament.