The Boxing Diary

Views and Opinions

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Andre Ward drops, decisions Sullivan Barrera on HBO comeback

Rust is for iron, but not for stainless steel.

Andre Ward, although just fought 3 times in three years, showed no ring-rust on a stellar performance against a credible undefeated prospect, Cuban Sullivan Barrera in a 12-round non-title match at the Oracle Arena, Oakland, California on HBO.

In the get-go it was obvious that Ward still had that quick and sharp hands at the light heavyweight division, targeting Barrera at will with precise combination. Ward (29-0, 15 KOs)  dropped Barrera in the third round with a well-placed counter left hook to the head. Although Barrera (17-1, 12 KO) obviously not hurt, but the timing of the impact did just enough to put his ass on the canvas, as his feet were not in the right position to absorb the timing of the counter.

The rest of the remaining rounds showed Ward out-boxing the solid amateur boxer with accuracy and superior defense. Since it's Easter, I gave a mercy round for Barrera. That's round 11. He landed solid combination that stopped Ward on his track.

Ringside judges had the fight 119-109, 117-109, and 117-108 for Ward.

With Ward getting past Barrera, as expected, is 'tentatively scheduled' or is expected to face the hard hitting light heavyweight titlist and Transnational Boxing Ranking Board ranked number 1 contender Sergey Kovalev. I think this will be the most anticipated match-up for this year aside from Mayweather-Golovkin, Canelo-Golovkin or Ward-Golovkin.

What do you think of Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev match-up?

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Watch: Manny Pacquiao's Greatest Hits



HBO released Manny Pacquiao's updated greatest hits that included highlights from his latest bouts. Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley will face once again in a rubber match to complete a trilogy on April 9 on HBO PPV.

 

Monday, March 7, 2016

Watch: Luis Ortiz-Tony Thompson Highlights

Watch: Sadam Ali-Jessie Vargas Highlights

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Khan: It will be like a game of chess

Former two-time world champion Amir "King" Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) said that his fight against lineal middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) "will be like a game of chess". Khan and Canelo wrap up their three-city international press tour in Los Angeles at the Universal CityWalk.

"It will be like a game of chess. Canelo is very strong. I have a very good trainer who will tell me the right game plan. We will go in to win this fight, and I will prove people wrong. Even though it is Cinco de Mayo, the British fans will come out. In Vegas, there will be more British flags than Mexican flags" said Khan.

Canelo and Khan scheduled on May 7 at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and can be viewed live on HBO Pay-Per-View.