Three Heavyweights With A Big 2014 Coming Up.

The future looks bright for these three...

So 2014 is upon us and it's looking like a great year is instore for the heavyweight division.

Let's recap on the five I wrote about last Jan...

The five I said would have big years in 2013 were Lucas Browne (now on the brink of the commonwealth title and a possible world title shot). Tyson Fury (one fight last year thanks to the celebrity that is Haye). David Price (who had a big 2013, sadly for him for all the wrong reasons). Robert Helenius (who like Fury only had the one fight last year, however his inactivity was due to injury) and Magomed Abdusalamov who is currently on a very long hard road to recovery after he went into a coma following his last fight in November - I wish him well.

This year I have chosen 3 that I think will have a big year in 2014 - Lucas Browne, Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder.

Lucas Browne.

Ranked No 11 by the WBC, Lucas had five fights in 2013, four of which ended before the final bell.  The one which went the distance was his UD over 12 rounds against former three-weight world champion James Toney, which was for the lightly regarded WBF title. The highlight of his year was his win against the highly regarded Richard Towers in an eliminator for the commonwealth title, which Browne won by 5th round TKO.

Browne's record now stands at 19 fights, 19 wins, 17 KOs (11 of which have been in the first 3 rounds). After his win over Towers he was next fight should have been against David Price for his Commonwealth Belt, however Price vacated all his titles, while he trys to rebuild his career in Germany with the Sauerland team.

Browne is due to fight for the vacant title in Victoria on the 3rd April. As yet no opponent has been named for the fight, however out of those mentioned and available I fully expect Browne to win and win well. That then leaves his next step...

Last year there was talk of a possible fight with Alex Leapai, however that fight may well be a thing of the past now, especially as Leapai has done a remarkable job in manoeuvring himself into the mandatory challenger for Wlad's WBO belt, a fight expected to take place around April time. Aussie boxing is certainly on the up. 

Lucas has been mentioned in dispatches by both Wilder and Fury in recent months as a possible fight. Whilst I think Wilder is being moved in a different direction, I could see Browne fighting the winner of the possible Fury Vs Chisora fight, which could also be a elimination bout for a shot at one of the titles as mandatory. Once he has fought for the commonwealth a fight Vs Mike Perez would be a good match up.

Lucas has come far in a fairly short period of time. When I wrote a similiar article Jan he was the outsider, now he is very much a main player. Most of what he has achieved has been through his own efforts and without the benefit of a settled corner team, especially a trainer. Once this is solved then I see nothing but great things for Browne. Future Champion Of The World? In my humble opinion - Yes, no doubt.

Derek Chisora.

Chisora has kept himself busy in 2013. He has shown himself to have been fitter and sharper than he has ever been which has resulted in all four of his fights being TKO stoppage wins. Picking up four belts along the way (WBA International Title, WBO International Title, EBU European Title & WBA inter-continental Title), whilst also getting himself ranked in the top 15 by all four of the major bodies, which is no mean feat - No 6 by the WBC, No 14 by the WBA, No 7 by the IBF & No 2 by the WBO - Impressive.     

Chisora's next fight is against Andriy Rudenko in his first defence of his European title. Rudenko has an impressive record on paper of 16 KOs from 24 wins and is classed as "The Klitschko" clone, however he has never fought outside the Ukraine before and whilst anything is possible with one punch in the heavys, I don't see him beating Chisora. (Chiora's opponent was replaced by the durable Kevin Johnson who he fights on 15th Feb).

Next up it is looking very likely that there will be a rematch between Fury and Chisora. Frank Warren would have you believe it is going to be an eliminator fight, it won't be, it would however be a fascinating fight. The original fight in 2011 was for the Commonwealth Title and saw a hugely out of shape Chisora lose to a UD over 12 rounds. With his renewed focus, I see a very different result this time around should the fight happen. 

Of course however, with Chisora being ranked with all four of the main bodies he has a lot of options open to him and perhaps Fury needs him more, Chisora and Warren could go in a different direction and may look at a possible fight with Jennings who is also ranked in the top 15 by all four bodies.

If Chisora can keep his focus then the world is his oyster, he took Vitali to 12th round decision in 2012 and has been in with some top fighters. Of the three I highlight in this article he is perhaps the most experienced, his record is 19 fights, 15 wins, 13 by KO.

Deontay Wilder. 

 

Deontay Wilder is perhaps the dark horse of the three, whilst also possibly the most likely to destroy all challengers no matter if the name is Browne, Chisora or Klitschko. The problem with Wilder is that no-one really knows how good he is yet. He has an incredibly impressive record of 30 fights winning all by KO which can not be taken away, even if the quality of those fighters can be called into question. You can only beat what's in front of you. He is, like Chisora ranked by all four of the world bodies - No 3 WBC, No 7 WBA, No 11 IBF & No 4 WBO.

Wilder has called out Fury lately via twitter, whilst Fury has returned fire, Chisora has called out Wilder via an online open letter and has been told by Wilder to wait his turn, whilst Browne has been mentioned by all them simply replying he'll fight them all. So what next for Wilder?

Wilder has said recently that he would like to fight Tyson Fury in his next fight, although I don't think either people's handlers would want that fight without a belt on the line. Most likely for Wilder is for him to fight the winner of the Stiverne Vs Arreola rematch who will be fighting for the WBC belt vacated by Vitali, would he win a fight against one of those 2 fighters? Wilder certanly thinks he beats Stiverne and has almost gone as far recently to call him a bum. 

Both Stiverne and Arreola are more experienced than Wilder as the biggest name on Wilder's "CV" is Siarhei Liakhovich, closely followed by Audley Harrison, however his power can not be taken for granted and is still very much an unknown quantity. Should he beat either Stiverne or Arreola then I could see a big money clash Vs Fury perhaps in late autumn which would put paid to Fury Vs Chisora, yet might open a door for Browne Vs Chisora. If Wilder can live up the hype, which seems to grow louder with each passing day, then he will be awesome, I am keeping my powder dry for the time being...

So having started out with the intention of writing just about three fighters, I have ended up mentioning 8 heavyweights who could all have a big say in the 2014 heavyweight scence. Of them all I think Chisora is most likely the best boxer, yet in the heavys that is not always the be all and end all, which is why I find it such a great division.

I wish them all well...

Browne Vs Towers - Heavyweight Commonwealth Eliminator.

"Big Daddy" Vs "The Inferno" - 2nd November, Hull.

Richard Towers - Lucas Browne

Next Saturday will hopefully be 3rd time lucky for both Browne and Towers to fight for the chance to face David Price for his Commonwealth Title, with this fight having been postponed twice before, it is a fight I am very much looking forward too.

6′ 4″ Browne brings a record of 17 fights, 17 wins, 15 by KO and is currently ranked 15th by the WBC. His last fight was in July against Travis Walker, a fight that Lucas won in the 7th after dropping Walker 3 times, however he was dropped himself in the first round.

6′ 8″  Towers has a record of 14 fights, 14 wins, 11by KO and is the former EBU- EU heavyweight champ. His last fight was against Tony Gregory for that belt back in June 2012. Many think that ringrust will play an issue with Richard having been out of the ring for so long, however having been busy as a sparring partner with both Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye, I'm not sure that will be a major problem.

Outside the ring both Lucas and Richard are good friends and have sparred several times with each other, however come fight night that will be put to one side as they fight to get that shot at Price. Lucas had this to say to V2Boxing about the bout - “Towers was a complete gentleman when I was last here and we got along very well. I don't want to be fighting Towers but we both understand it has to be done and this is the sport we have chosen. We sparred a few times and I'm sure we have both taken something from those exchanges, but in saying that, it was a while ago now and I know I've improved ten fold from then so it will be interesting. I'm pumped to finally get this fight because I want the Commonwealth title. I don't really care where the fight is, as long as I get a chance to fight for the belt and get a chance to show the world what I can do. I've got a decent following over here and I'm very thankful to the UK fans for getting behind me like they have. When it comes to fight time it doesn't matter where I am, I'm there to do what I do best”.

Matt Clarke (Browne's manager) had this to say to Hatton Promotions, (Ricky Hatton is the promotor for both fighters) - "It certainly is third time lucky, I believe we're going to see a career best performance from Lucas. He's preparing extremely well, without any distractions and he's ready for this next step. His fan base in the UK and Ireland is growing rapidly and a good performance here might see him face defending Commonwealth champion David Price in his next bout."

Richard Towers is certainly looking forward to the fight saying - "I have been hanging in limbo since the Australia fight was called off. I was supposed to fight Johann Duhaupas and that didn't happen so I'm excited about the fight with Lucas being on again. I don't want to slag Lucas off because he's a good guy and I consider him a friend but I think he is getting carried away with the stars a little  because he's banging these guys out"

Whether the winner of this fight will actually face David Price in 2014 for the title is very much up for debate and we will have to wait to see what Price's next move is going to be.

This is certainly going to be an interesting fight and is a clash of styles. Browne goes forward at every opportunity, whilst Towers, likes to use his reach to keep others at bay. With a 4" height advantage Towers is going to attempt to use his reach and his jab to keep the big hitting Lucas at bay, however I feel if Lucas can get inside and work to the body he will get some great success, eventually he'll get to the chin of Towers and that will be that. 

So yes, whilst this is a tight fight on paper I believe that Lucas will have too much power for Towers and whilst the loser of this fight will have a tricky road back it certainly won't be the end of the road, not yet...

I wish them both well.

Chisora - Looking to the future.

Chisora – Hoping for another chance...

This evening at The Copper Box in London, Dereck Chisora can take a huge step towards having another shot at the world title when he fights Edmund Gerber in a 12 round fight for the vacant European Heavyweight Title. First he wants a rematch with the winner of the Haye Vs Fury fight – (he has fought them both).

Gerber is a 25 year old German with a record of 24 fights, 23 wins (14 KO) and 1 loss. His one loss coming to Michael Sprott in Dec last year. 

Despite his apparent lack of experience vs Chisora’s he is full of confidence - “Chisora only knows one gear. The key to beating him is simple: impress him with your punching power and looseness. Over the rounds, he then will run out of ideas. And when he starts risking too much, I will knock his lights out. I feel more than ready and want to take the next step in my career. This is the chance I have been waiting for. Now it is time to take this big opportunity. My whole team is confident that I will beat Chisora and so am I.” 

On the likely hostile atmosphere he is likely to feel from the London crowd - “I will take no notice of them. In fact, they can boo me as loud as they want. At the end of it all, it will be me who will be holding the European belt and it will be the crowd who will be stunned into silence.”

Chisora is the Jekyll and hyde character of world boxing the man that has spat at one Klitschko and slapped another, and was supposed to have fought Deontay Wilder back in June before Wilder’s past caught up with him and he was denied a visa. He has been to anger management classes while his British licence was suspended and as a result was given it back.

His record reads 21 fights, 17 wins (11 KOs) with 4 losses. He has been in the ring with Haye, Fury, Helenius, Vitali Klitschko and top contender Malik Scott. He has a whole wealth of experience and has fought some of the best heavyweights around, a lesson some others could learn if they want credibility.

Dereck Chisora: "Beating Gerber is another step closer to the Klitschko brothers and nothing is going to stop me winning the European title. I'm fit, lean and mean and ready to do the business against Gerber who is a good fighter, but not in my class. I really want to do a great job on him, really smash him up and show that I deserve a shot at the Klitschkos."

However the Klitschkos may have to wait. Chisora: "To be honest with you, and people shouldn't take this the wrong way, but I think there are better fights in Great Britain than us [Haye, Fury, Chisora] going to challenge for the world title, There's a good mix with Tyson Fury, David Haye and myself. It's alright boxing for the world title and everybody just trying to go and dance with the K2 promotions music. 

Let's do our own thing and when they're ready to give up the titles then people can fight for those world titles. Fighters are making money when they're not in world title fights. Why should I say I want to box for a world title when the Klitschkos are trying to slave you for the world titles you're fighting for. 

I don't like those guys the more I talk about them the more I get upset."

Whoever Chisora fights next, he must concentrate on tonight as the European Title is a sought after belt and is seen as one worth having by future title challengers. His previous attempt at winning this belt resulting in him being robbed by a hometown decision Vs Helenius, who doesn’t seem to have moved onwards with his career, although some injuries haven’t helped.

I hope the fighter that fought Klitschko turns up tonight and not the fighter who fought Avila at Rule Britannia in April. That fighter will lose tonight and another loss on Chisora’s record could result in him becoming another journeyman and never really fulfilling his ambition or utilising his immense talent.

My feelings are that he will have too much power and experience for Gerber and will grind him down to win by stoppage around the 6^th or 7^th round.

I wish them both well...

Exclusive Bryant Jennings Q&A.

 Bryant "By-BY" Jennings.

Jennings

Jennings may be a name new to some of those reading this, however he is a boxer very much on the up within the heavyweight division and possibly the best hope America has of regaining the heavyweight crown in the near future.

Bryant Jennings is a 28 year old heavyweight boxer with a record of 17 fights, 17 wins, 9 by KO and is currently ranked no 3 by the IBF. 

Bryant very kindly agreed to do a Q&A, here are his answers...

1. You have come a long way in a short time, currently being ranked 3rd in the world by the IBF. What is the plan going forward? Where do you expect to be career wise in 2 years time?
My plan is just to keep winning. And in the next two years I see myself either being the champ of the world or have already fought for the title going for it again. 

2. Your trainer Fred Jenkins said after your latest win against Andrey Fedosov that Klitschko was next. Which brother will you aim for?

It'll have to be Vlad

3. You don't generate the same headlines as Wilder, Scott, Tyson Fury or Haye, whilst Hughie Fury has only had 5 fights yet is being hailed by some in the UK as the next big superstar. Does this generate any resentment for you?

It's the politics in boxing. The truth will come out at the end. I ain't letting that get to me though I do notice it. 

4. In this age of super big/tall heavyweights do you think being a "smaller" 6" 2" is an advantage or do you have to work harder?

The bigger they are the harder they fall. Simple

5. Who, in your opinion are the top 5 HWs in the world at the moment?
No particular order Me, Malik Scott, Eddie Chambers, David Haye, Tyson Fury 

6. You had 17 fights as an amateur, do you feel that your "education" is lacking anything?
Nope I'm a master at life so I adjust to anything.   

 
7. Who wins Haye or Fury?
Whoever hits who first. Both their chins are suspect. But Haye has a much better chance. 

8. Who or what is your inspiration to keep going? Do you have any boxing "heroes"?
Motivated just from being broke. Keeping distance from failure and My son of course.

9. If you weren't a boxer what would you be?
I'd be something great. I'd probably be a few things like I am now. Boxing is only one of my many talents. 

 
10. Do you have any messages for your fans in the UK? Or for those that may not be so familiar with you?

Can't wait to debut there in the UK. Thanks for the support. I'm going to  continue to do well and to put my all in every fight. Follow me on twitter and Instagram @byjennings

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bryant for his time and I would urge you to follow him and his career.

I wish Bryant well...

Tyson Fury - Keeping Himself In The Public's Eye.

Love or Loathe him everyone has an opinion on Tyson Fury.

Fury - The king of twitter

Tyson Fury has a habit of dividing opinion in the boxing world. Last night he perhaps went a little too far tweeting - @Tyson_Fury: I'd would of loved to smash Lenox Lewis if he was around now!!

This caused a lot of reaction within twitter with some calling Fury very stupid and that he should have some respect for one the best heavyweights of all time, others were not so polite.

Never one to duck out of a twitter row, Tyson came back with this - @Tyson_Fury: Lennox could not recover after he was hurt. That why all his losses were by KO!

A further barage of abuse was sent Fury's way, each response being batted away by Fury.

Lewis's response was quite short and to the point - @LennoxLewis ☑Gold Medal ☑British ☑European ☑Commonwealth ☑WBC ☑Lineal ☑WBA ☑IBF ☑IBO ☑Ring ☑Undisputed ☑Boxing Hall of Fame

The record of Lennox Lewis speaks for itself and Fury was "clever" choosing Lewis to have a pop at, having previously used MMA fighters, David Haye, Deontay Wilder and others to keep himself in the headlines. 

With a quarter of a million people following Lewis, Fury has guaranteed a lot of exposure, even if it is just on twitter, all publicity is good publicity and has resulted in people such as myself in writing about him!

Haye's brush with the Fury charm wagon on twitter was a few days ago - @Tyson_Fury If David haye takes this fight ill make him f**k his self! 100% getting it ill make him quit like the bitch he is! 

Some people give haye a punchers chance I give him no chance he has a haymaker I have the pay master & play maker! Haye is getting smashed

Fury is hoping to fight David Haye in September this year and whilst some of his episodes on twitter may be frowned on, he will keep himself and subsequently, Haye in the media and this will make money.

Money is, after all, what makes the world go around.

I wish Tyson well...

Exclusive - Ian Lewison Q&A.

Exclusive - Ian Lewison Q&A.

Lewison Vs Ruzsinszky

Ian "Lay Em Out" Lewison is the 31 year old heavyweight boxer from Brixton, South London. He had a successful career as an amateur, beating both Helenius and Solis, finishing his AM career with a record of 67 wins and 5 losses.

Ian has had 10 pro fights, 7 wins (4 by KO), 2 losses and 1 draw. His last fight was in the semi final of Prizefighter and his next fight is a rematch with Colin Kenna on 13th July.

I was lucky enough to be able to ask Ian some questions lately and here are his answers...

1. With some time passed now since Prizefighter, how would you rate your performance? 

I feel in prize fighter I fought well but looking back I think in the second fight I was convinced I was well ahead on points so I went into the 3rd round and was saving myself for the final. 

2. What do you think you can learn from your next opponent,  Colin Kenna? Is he a stepping stone upwards or is it a case of righting a wrong from your 6th fight?

I don't think I can learn anything from Kenna, I just want to inflect pain on him.
 

3. What is the plan going forward? For example where do you expect to be career wise in 2 years time?

The plan moving forward is to get 10 rounds fights under my belt so I will be able to fight for major titles, in 2 years I would like to be world champion defending my titles.
 

4. You don't generate the same headlines as Price, Tyson Fury or Haye, whilst Hughie Fury has only had 5 fights yet is being hailed by some as the next big superstar. Does this generate any resentment for you? 

Hughie is  getting headlines right now on the back of Tyson. I think he's good but we will never know till his opposition is better, about him saying he wants to be youngest heavy weight champion I think it's to keep his name in the headlines, no resentment from me towards them they have a good P.R team behind them,they can only beat what's there and there doing that even though there being under matched. 

5. Who, in your opinion are the top 5 HWs in the world at the moment?

1 Wlad Klitchko

2 David Haye 

3 Vit Klitchko

4 Tomasz Adamek

5 not sure about  
 

6. You had a fairly successful amateur career beating both Helenius and Solis. Do you think you're pro career is falling short of the standard you set in the ams so far?

My pro career got off to a slow start it is starting to build up momentum now, in the start I had lots of injury's and was inactive I will reach the heights of the pro ranks within 2 years. 

7. Who wins Haye or Fury?

Haye wins by knockout within 5 rounds brutal knockout.

8. Who or what is your inspiration to keep going? Do you have any boxing "heroes"?

My inspiration is willing and being able to give my kids nice things.

9. If you weren't a boxer what would you be?

I would be a business man I love doing business.

10. Do you have any messages for your fans? Or for those that may not be so familiar with you?
To everyone that has watched me and enjoyed the excitement I bring, stay tuned to my facebook fan page and twitter for all the latest news  and developments.

Thanks for all your support in the past and continued support I put my body throw all the pain to give the fans excitement. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ian for his time and I would urge you to follow him and his career, I wish Ian well...

Fury, Booth and Hennessy - Haye Vs Fury Fight.

TYSON FURY, ADAM BOOTH & MICK HENNESSY DISCUSSING HAYE.

 

Thanks to iFilm London...

 

The selling of this fight begins...

Fury "Haye looked at me like a piece of sh*t back in 2007 when I was an amateur. When we fight I will rip his heart out and feed it to him"...

 

I wish them all well...

 

 

 

Audley Harrison – Inspirational or Delusional?

Audley Harrison – Inspirational or Delusional?

Harrison

Harrison is the fighter who never seems to know when to give up. After his defeat to David Price 99% of people said he should retire. The only person who said no was Audley himself. He believes in himself and in his ability, he believes it is his destiny to be world champion.

He saw the latest heavyweight prizefighter show as a stepping stone back onto the road he has tried to follow many times before. Whilst others laughed, sighed and pointed at him his single minded determination resulted in him actually winning the event for the second time. 

He is now lined up to fight Deontay Wilder on Amir Khan’s undercard on 27^th April in Sheffield. Wilder is the great hope from the USA with a record of 27 fight, 27 wins, 27 KOs!!

Wilder

During his pro career whenever it looked like he might have found some belief to go with his undoubted ability he would fall again and would then have to face a torrent of questioning whether he really was any good. For example beating Danny Williams in Sept 2006, but then being beaten by Michael Sprott in his next fight by TKO.

He tried to scale many hills and mountains but always slipped, stumbled and fell before he got to the summit, yet he keeps getting up and trying again…

23 KOs from 31 wins shows that Audley had the power and skill to beat any opponent in front of him on his day, BUT,  6 losses, 4 of which were to Sprott, Williams, Rogan and Guinn show that he lacked the mental ability to go with his boxing skill. At times it looked like he was a rabbit caught in headlights. The 3rd round against David Haye was a classic example of this.

 

Along with prizefighter the highlight of his pro career was winning the European heavyweight title at his second attempt against Michael Sprott.

But he never wrapped a belt around his waist again and may never again – Yet he still believes...

His defeat at the hands of the commonwealth heavyweight, David Price, after 82 seconds should be his last and should also make it clear to Audley himself that he does not have the tools any longer to succeed at the top of the game domestically, never mind European or world level.

Yet Audley still believes.

We should not forget the good that Audley did boxing and the abuse he received before and after the Price fight was, in my opinion scandalous. Had Audley not won Gold at the 2000 Olympics, boxing GB would have scaled back its programme even more and would also have received a lot less  funding, possibly meaning the end of Olympic boxing in the country. 

He always believed he'd win gold.

With no TeamGB there would have been no Khan, Degale, Joshua, Adams, Price, etc, etc learning their trades in the amateurs winning medals at Olympic games. I think people should remember that.

Harrison will go into the fight with Wilder as a big underdog with the bookies, however there are those who think he may beat Wilder. Wilder after all is yet to face anybody in the top 30 in the world even after 27 fights and although he has a great KO record is still not a “name” in America and isn’t showcased on US TV the way Fury and Price are in the UK.

A win for Harrison won’t get him a shot at one of the Klitschkos for a title, but it will put him back in the reckoning. Harrison is an enigma that sells tickets and makes money, whether if it’s from people supporting him or people wanting to see him knocked out his opponents won’t mind. His PR machine will go into overdrive calling for a fight with a genuine top 5 contender, nobody will give him a chance – yet he'll still believe.

I asked the question is Audley Inspirational or Delusional at the beginning. 


Whatever you, I or anybody else thinks, I know what Audley believes…


I wish him well…
 

Edit- Wilder stopped Harrison in 70 seconds of the first round.