Next week FNF: Yusaf Mack vs Chris Henry

Good Yusaf Mack interview:

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=18680&more=1

 

Q – I am sure you are not looking past this fight but assuming you do win is there anyone specifically you would like to call out?

Chad Dawson is the best in the division and I want to prove myself against the best, also I would love to fight Diaconu for the WBC belt, I will show Henry how he should have done it.
Interesting...

 

Dawson - everyone with a bit of power wants to fight him. He's the man to beat.
Erdei - no one gets a shot at him.
Garay - no money in it and unknown in the USA
Diaconu - the default guy, I guess.

Hopkins is obviously out of the question for the likes of Mack to dream about.

 

I am gonna watch this one but its no Ngdoujo vs Urango

 

Ngoudjo vs Urango did somewhat better than I expected in terms of entertainment,I'm assuming this is gonna be entertaining so it should be there.

 

I think it will be a good fight too. Not sure how many will watch it though. No one's talking about it.

 

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=+2]http://www.fightnews.com/?p=3335

Henry is primed for Mack![/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=+1][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]By Byron Spurlock[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]NABF light heavyweight champion Chris “Hard Hittin” Henry (23-1, 18 KOs) is fighting contender Yusaf Mack (26-2, 16 KOs) in the main event of tonight’s ESPN2 Friday Night Fights. Henry has proven himself with many exciting knockouts as he has stepped up the ladder of better quality competition.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Henry’s hard work created a title opportunity and in April 2009 when he fought Adrian Diaconu for the interim WBC light heavyweight title. Diaconu controlled the first half of the fight, but Henry came on strong in the last four rounds to make a very good fight. Henry was wobbled at the end of round eight, but showed a great chin and heart to stay on his feet.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Fighting in Burcharest, Romania - the homeland of Diaconu - Henry lost a controversial but close decision (113-116 and 113-115 twice) but his showing strengthened his determination that he would win a world title.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Henry’s style is to come straight to his opponents, which should cause fireworks with Mack, who possesses power in both hands.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Henry is ranked #4 by the WBC, #12 by the WBA and #6 by the IBF while Mack is ranked #9 by the WBA and #11 by the IBF.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The winner of this crossroad confrontation of contenders will move closer to a world title shot while the loser may be dropped from contendership.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“My main goal is basically to get to the top so none of the top guys can avoid or duck me,” outlined Henry.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Both Henry and his trainer - Bobby Benton - discussed tonight’s fight with FightNews earlier this week.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Chris Henry[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]How do you feel that your training camp has been coming along for the fight against Yusaf Mack?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I think things are going well, we are working hard, Bobby is breaking things down that we have to get done and we are just trying to take care of business in the gym here. We’re staying in the gym all the time, breaking down film, so I feel that we are more than prepared for this fight.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Would you consider this a showcase fight for you? How are you preparing for the fight that can take you to the next level?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]You know I think people are beginning to open up their eyes and seeing who we are. It’s not like we just came from out of the dark, we’ve been here for a while. It’s been hard to get some exposure, but now that we are making some traction in that area, I believe we are going to take full advantage of the chances we get.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I believe in the Diaconu loss in April of 2008; that was my first professional loss and that was for the Interim WBC light heavyweight title. I fought that fight in his backyard and it turned out to be a controversial decision loss where the scorecards could have gone either way. Even in that fight people began to see who Chris Henry really was and I don’t think people are taking me lightly anymore.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]You’re a young fighter, just 27 years of age. Are you taking this fight as a must win?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Have to, in this sport every fight is a must win fight for a fighter and that’s the way I’m looking at this fight. I can’t wait for another day or another fight; I have to take one fight at a time and right now this coming Friday is where I have to take care of business.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This fight is going to show everything, I’m expecting Mack to bring his game to the fight and if that happens this is going to be a good fight. This is a fight that I need that is going to take me to that next level where I want to be fighting some of the champions out there.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Was there a fight in your career that perhaps has changed you and made you look at things a little different?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I would have to say it goes back to the single loss that I experienced. I traveled to another country and experienced a tough fight in someone else’s backyard. I learned that in some fights you cannot expect to walk away with a decision, (that) you have to end the fight early by getting a knockout.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This is a crossroads battle between top contenders plus you are on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights. This is a prefect opportunity for a young contender. What are your thoughts? [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]My main goal is basically to get to the top so none of the top guys can avoid or duck me. I want to be in the mix so that the best have to come to me. Hopefully with this fight I will get some of those fighters out there who are ranked ahead of me might want to setup a fight with me, who knows. My thing is to take advantage of the spotlight being on me this Friday night and let this opportunity take me to the next level so I can challenge a win a light heavyweight title in 2009.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bobby Benton[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]How has Chris progress been leading up to the fight?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I think everything has been going fine, leading up to this fight. We’ve had eight good weeks of training, the weight is coming down perfect and we had some real hard-hitting sparring in the gym. Fighters who normally fight here in the gym got Chris ready for the fight as well.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]How important is this fight to Chris?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Chris is ready for the fight, mentally he is ready physically he is ready; let’s just say that we stay ready.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]How do you feel about the location of the fight being in Maryland?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I feel good; this fight is on neutral grounds Yusaf Mack is from Philadelphia, so this is a pretty neutral site for both fighters.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What have you told Chris about this opportunity of being on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I haven’t had to tell Chris anything, he knows that in this sport you have to take advantage of every chance you get. Both guys are ranked high in the rankings. I think both fighters know this is a big fight for each of them, Chris knows it, Yusaf knows it, and so I’m sure both fighters will be bringing their “A” game that night.[/FONT]

 

Eh, I just don't think Mack has it in him to last 12 rounds with a puncher. He just runs out of steam way too easily. When someone puts pressure on him, he tries to pressure back. Problem is the only way he can last is by throwing 40 punches a round. Both times he got KOed it was because he gassed himself out trying to keep up with an aggressive fighter, and guess what - Chris Henry is another aggressive fighter. This seems like a no-brainer mid-rounds TKO for me.

 

Yeah...Henry is going for the high-light reel mid-round KO for sure. Henry's aggressive and he's a puncher and he has power, but Mack will be stronger at the weight and will take better punches too; he sure can take a lot of leather, even if he cannot take one-off great punches that well. If he is indeed in the shape of his life and if he fights an intelligent fight, this could go to the cards. If I'm to make a pick I'm going to go for:

Henry clear UD 35%
Henry TKO 30%
Mack close UD 25%
Mack TKO 10%

Anyway, it will be grand to see how they've improved since Diaconu/Andrade, if at all.

 

You got it. I'm a desilusioned Diaconu fight and i will watch this fight. In fact the shark was very lucky to win this one, so Henry must be very good and i want to see more of him. And dont forget Mack has floored Andrade. Even Kessler and Bute were not able to do so. It should be a good match.

 

Draw would have been much fairer in the Diaconu v. Henry fight, I think. Anyway, they'll probably get to fight again.

Here's the views of Houston on this fight:

"World-class light-heavyweights meet in an excellent main event on Friday Night Fights when Philadelphia’s skilled and dangerous Yusaf Mack faces the steady and competent Chris Henry, of Houston, TX. Two light-heavy belts are at stake, with Henry defending the NABF title while Mack risks the NABA championship. More importantly, though, this fight is a sort of unofficial world title eliminator. Whoever wins will move forward nicely in the 175-pound division.
Henry, 27, has already fought at top level at light-heavy. He lost a unanimous but hard-fought decision to local favourite Adrian Diaconu for the interim WBC title in Romania. This is his only loss in 24 fights, and he was very competitive, putting Diaconu under pressure in the later rounds. With the crowd’s support lifting him, Diaconu was able to dig down and rally just enough to get the unanimous but close victory. Henry came away from that bout with his reputation enhanced and I think he will have learned a lot from that fight.
Mack, 29, is the higher-profile fighter because he has had more TV appearances. Stopped twice as a 168-pounder, he is bigger and stronger as a light-heavy now that he doesn’t have to struggle to make weight. He has stopped two out of three opponents at light-heavy while winning a comfortable decision over Daniel Judah, who went into survival mode after being dropped early in the bout.
In his last fight, Mack was relaxed and powerful when he stopped the usually durable Omar Pittman in six rounds. Pittman, moving up from the super middle division, was worn down by left jabs that had one eye swollen, and in the sixth a right-hander actually spun him around before he dropped to the canvas.
Being weakened by making weight is thought to have contributed to Mack’s shocking defeat in six rounds against Alejandro Berrio, while he also ran out of steam when he was stopped by Librado Andrade in the seventh round of a war in Las Vegas.
Mack looked like a winner that night when he dropped the granite-chinned Andrade in the first round, but he pushed for the knockout and got caught up in a war of attrition in which he was eventually outlasted.
I interviewed Andrade for a story that appears in the current issue of Boxing Monthly, and he told me that when he went down he said to himself: “Holy ****! This is gonna be bad.” When Mack started standing right in front of him instead of boxing a smart, counter punching fight, Andrade could hardly believe his good fortune because his slicker opponent was giving him a chance to land hard punches. After the fight, Andrade, one of the most honest fighters in the business, said he went over to Mack, whom he seems to like a lot, and told him: “I thank God you dropped me in that first round, man, because [otherwise] you would have outboxed me.”
There were moments in the fight with Andrade when Mack looked superb, the way he rolled with punches and blasted back, and not many fighters would have got up from the huge left hook that floored the durable Mexican fighter in the opening round.
Mack, then, is a gifted boxer-puncher, and he is currently in top form.
Henry doesn’t have the smooth skills of Mack, but he is a boxer of sound technique, and he’s big and strong, having boxed as a cruiserweight — he even beat a 256-pound heavyweight in the crude but somewhat dangerous Rafael Pedro. He was seen on Wednesday Night Fights last year when stopping trial horse Rubin Williams in six rounds, with Williams cut over the eye and taking a belting.
In his last fight, Henry merely did what was expected of him by winning an easy decision over the ordinary Corey Cummings.
Henry was a good amateur, losing to Chazz Witherspoon in the national Golden Gloves semi-finals at 201 pounds.
I believe that Henry is the type of boxer who works hard at his craft, and he has obviously improved since he struggled against the journeyman Rayco Saunders in 2006. Henry knows how to fight, and he might be the sturdier of the two men, but Mack looks the more polished, fluid boxer of the two, a bit faster, and he also seems to be the bigger banger.
Mack has the talent to outbox and outscore Henry, and he could look quite brilliant at times. Henry will have to be prepared to withstand some blistering combinations. If Henry can do this, though, he might be able to force his way into the fight. He survived a very wobbly patch in the eighth round to come on strongly against Diaconu.
Henry's trainer, Bobby Benton, said from Houston that the fight is a 12-rounder although I have seen it listed as being for 10 rounds. Benton feels that a 12-rounder is more to Henry's advantage. "Mack is a real fighter but I don't think he handles pressure too well," Benton said. "Chris has had eight weeks to get ready for the fight and he's had a great camp. I think Chris is going to have a great night."
Mack, for me, is the betting favourite, but I can envision an upset. Henry is likely to be behind at the halfway mark but I think he has the heart and physical and mental strength to fight his way back and start to get through in the later rounds. I agree with trainer Benton that a 12-rounder seems to favour Henry. He seems a more robust type of fighter than Mack and I think he can bring the sort of pressure that can pay off down the stretch. It will be tough going, but I just have the suspicion that Henry can grit out a narrow win against a more gifted opponent."


http://www.fightwriter.com/?q=node/2052

 

Actually Bute did put Andrade down.

 

Why would you critisize the NABF title? Winning it all but guarantees a fighter a WBC title eliminator.

 

So, does anyone know, is this a 10 rounder or a 12 rounder? I agree with Houston that the longer this goes, the higher the chance that Henry wins. (I assumed it was a 12 rounder when I made my prediction...) Boxrec says 12...

Here are the odds on oddschecker:

Chris Henry (1.66) Yusaf Mack (2.2)
Chris Henry (-153) Yusaf Mack (120)
Chris Henry (19/29) Yusaf Mack (6/5)

Not bad odds...for either man, really...:think

 

It's for both NABF and NABA titles actually.