Next week FNF: Yusaf Mack vs Chris Henry

Winner will very get an eliminator to become mandatory challenger on the back of this, I think. WBC, (for the number 3 slot, after Branco and Glen Johnson) and WBA...both interested here, I think.

 

With the NABA and NABF on the line it's most likely a 12 rounder

 

Aye...:good

 

Well, I just wondered why the OP would critisize the NABF title. Frazier, SRL and many others used it as a stepping stone. More recently Pavlik got his shot on the heels of winning it. It's one of the few lower level titles that still holds credibility.

 

I'm pretty sure NABF title fights are always 12 rounds. From memory I think they were 12 rounds even back when world title fights were 15 rounds.

 

Yeah...plenty of guys seem to use it as a stepping stone and it does seem to be credible.

What's the difference between the NABF and the NABA - the NABA also seems popular with soon-to-be/current belthoders?

EDIT: seems the NABA is the WBA version of the NABF.

 

Someone may correct me, but I think NABA is affiliated with the WBA.

NABF titles have been around for a really long time, and have been held by some damn fine fighters.

Some people may not recall, but the second Winky Wright/Bronco McKart fight was an NABF title fight. Winky had already taken a title from McKart. Bronco was just trying to return the favor:hey

 

:good

Yap...their rankings are also pretty decent, considering. Makes the IBO rankings for example look awful by comparison.

 

All these belts are attached to some sanctioning body.
WBA NABA,IBF NABF,WBO NABO,WBC USNBC,etc

 

OHH please, i'm a big Bute fan but c'mon this was not a real knockdown, it was more a mix between a slip and an off balance Andrade. Mack knockdown of Andrade was a real one. But yes, Bute has a ''ruled'' knockdown on Andrade.

 

True but nonetheless a KD.

 

I missed this one. Henry has a very good chin and he is tough, and Mack has very good power and he is a good boxer. It was always going to be a very tough, competitive fight. Has anyone seen it?

Here's a good report for anyone who's interested:

By Cliff Rold

In a mild upset and the best win of his career, 29-year old Light Heavyweight Yusaf Mack (27-2-2, 16 KO) of New York City scored early and often with heavy right hands to capture a split decision from 27-year old top-ten Light Heavyweight contender Chris Henry (23-2, 18 KO). It was Mack’s fourth straight after suffering a knockout loss to Super Middleweight contender Librado Andrade in October 2007. The Friday night card played out before a lively crowd at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland.
Henry came in at the Light Heavyweight limit of 175 lbs., Mack one pound below at 174.
Henry came out with a fast jab but Mack landed first with his stiff left stick. Mack shot short lead left hooks to the head and body as he circled away from Henry but Henry was undeterred. Both men landed hard rights in the final minute and Mack added a second along with a sharp right uppercut to steal the opening frame.
Wild right hands from each missed to start the second and neither seemed able to find range early, the best blow coming in a Henry right behind the head of Mack. Henry slammed two to the body and a right over the top in working Mack towards the ropes but Mack worked off in an exchange of rights. A timed right hand landed flush for Mack at the minute mark but a following left uppercut was blocked. Henry returned to the body, straying just below the belt to no affect and Mack returned to his jab and right in the closing seconds.
Henry loaded up with two right hand bombs early in the third but Mack rolled with both before connecting cleanly with one of his own. Henry fired the left to the gut and at a minute in found the head of Mack, rocking him back. Mack’s right uppercut connected at the halfway mark and Henry replied by going hard to the body and again finishing with the right up top. Henry pinned Mack to the ropes with body work in the final minute but received a stern warning from referee Kenny Chevalier for straying low.
Tangled legs ended with Henry on the floor but no knockdown was scored to start the fourth. As the round wore on it was again a tale of Mack’s accurate right hand. While both men scored in close, Mack’s shots were cleaner and easier to score. A lopping Henry right hook scored in the closing seconds.
Henry rolled away from a Mack right hand to open the fifth and chased Mack down with a thudding right of his own just seconds later. Mack landed a series of long rights and lefts over a thirty second stretch and both men slowed a bit towards the halfway mark. The action stayed inside and against the ropes for a stretch before moving to ring center. Mack continued to score almost at will with haymaking power shots and the possibility of a steep scoring deficit for Henry began to loom.
The deficit got worse in the sixth but Henry showed great heart in staying off the floor. Heading towards the final minute, Mack began lasering in with rights to the temple of Henry. Over and over the shot landed, and Henry lost his balance falling towards the ropes. He would not fall to the floor. Mack, winded, saw his shots lose steam in the waning moments and Henry planted his feet and threw if to little avail.
In the seventh, it was Henry bouncing on his toes to start but the impression of freshness was short lived as a Mack right crashed home and Henry returned to flat feet. The round was perhaps the slowest of the bout and it benefited Henry who worked for more consistently for the full three minutes, adding nice rib work along the way.
A short left hook inside imbalanced Mack at the beginning of the eighth but he failed to follow it up and the pace remained slower than it had been earlier on. Mack continued to land more accurately but Henry showed signs of a rally as his work rate presented a judging quandary. In round nine, Mack made it easier for the pencil and pad crew, cranking up his right hands again even as Henry continued to press.
The electricity was all but gone in round ten. Even as both men continued to load up heavy blows, the action was sporadic until a steady exchange at the end of the round. The chances Henry was catching up in the scoring continued as neither man could demand advantage and Mack gave the appearance of a flagging battler. Both landed hard body blows in the first half of the eleventh and again it was Henry who looked like he wanted it more, pressing the action and throwing more if not showier shots.
The quick, obligatory hand tap of respect to start the final round was rudely forgotten with a Mack right hand seconds later to spring the bout back to life. Henry staggered forward but again refused to fall. Mack had little energy to follow up and was worked to the ropes by Henry, his mouth wide open for air. Both men, exhausted, leaned into each other between occasionally intended bombs. Henry stayed downstairs but never gave up on the right hand upstairs while Mack landed a few short hooks down the stretch. Both men were standing at the final bell of a long, grueling affair.
The late rally would not be enough for Henry as the split decision scores were announced at 116-112 and 115-112 Mack with the dissenting score going to Henry at 115-113.

 

Here's my scouting report on Chris Henry:

Chris Henry is a game, tough, but very limited mauler type. He has average power for a light heavyweight, but he makes up for it with high-volume punching. He lacks defense. Has a good beard. Has poor balance and no fluidity. He has a sort of rock e'm sock 'em robot style. He bores in headfirst and wails on an opponent against the ropes. Chris Henry is a test for any light heavyweight but he is strictly 2nd tier and always will be.

 

Sounds about right to me.

I'm glad Mack is back on track. He was never as good as his fans made him out to be when he was starting out but he's not as bad as people make him out to be now either. Now that he's fighting at the right weight, he should be able to prove he's a contender, especially given the strength of the division. He still has to improve and work hard, but he should at least be in contention one of these days.

 

Mack is a good fighter.

I've seen him in person at a gym in Philly...he's not nearly as large a guy as I would have expected, but very trim.