Pantera Vocalist, Phil Anselmo's boxing articles

Phil's breakdown and prediction on some of the up and coming fights.

Philip H. Anselmo Plays The Pick ‘em Game
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 9:03 am

With so many big time fights coming up abruptly around the corner, I’m straying away from my normal fare of pugilistic oudeurves to throw my opinion out on who I think will win a few upcoming fights of interest and how the winner of the contest should accomplish victory, sort of the way the great odds maker Herb Lambeck used to do when he’d contribute to probably the best tangible duel American mail order boxing fanzines ever, both “Flash” and “Boxing Update” (R.I.P.). “Flash” came bi-monthly and “Boxing Update”, monthly (published by Virgil Thrasher out of California), and were an absolute necessity for the hardcore fans who’ve followed the game long enough to remember those gems. Don’t count on me to give you the odds like Herb, but I’ll cough up a winner.

In the heavyweight division we have two important contests, both coming out of Germany, with two fighters from the Ukraine invo lved in separate fights, attempting to fulfill the biggest victory of their careers. Vitali Klitschko vs. WBC champ Samuel Peter seems an interesting fight, however there are two different scenarios that will possibly unfold. The first visage is clear, if Vitali’s four-year hiatus from boxing rejuvenated his 37-year old body, preserving his KO power, hand speed, clumsy but effective foot work, and go for broke stamina. If he retained the same fighting shape of 2004, the fight could possibly end within 3 rounds. Peter would be dethroned brutally, and sent straight into Palookaville, fighting journeymen fighters the rest of his career. He’d be ruined. The second thing that could happen is that Vitali brings all the fight in the world with him in his heart, but he’s a rusty, slower version of himself, which is very probable. He‘s always shown a great chin and recuperative powers, but in saying that, it proves that he can also be hit flush. Especially by the right hand, a la the Lennox Lewis brawl. And Sam Peter’s right hand is said to be his supposed money punch.

No matter which Vitali shows up, he stops Sam Peter at one point. All the head scratching, nervously muttered threats Peter uttered during media opportunities will prove prophetically empty. Sam Peter is as good as he’ll ever be as a fighter. Attempting to change him into a boxer/puncher has proven nil. He’s a wild swinging, overrated, wide target with a dented chin. Vitali Klitschko KO 5 Sam Pete r.

O.K. I’ve seen Vladimir Virches twice on DVD, and have no clue how he’s been rated as lofty as he has. When he fought stout European journeyman Paolo Vidoz, it was give and take quite evenly till Virches knocked him out with a wild punch just before the midway point of the fight. He looked a little less than average to say the least. And having KO power vs. journeymen in the heavyweights is normally a given. In the other corner Juan Carlos Gomez, the former long-time WBC cruiserweight champ, is an extremely awkward, but hard punching guy whose only loss was, in my opinion, an aberration. Gomez is the dark horse of the heavyweight division because of his unorthodox style and underrated punching power, however his chin has to be scrutinized after his first loss came by way of KO in the first round. By all rights, if an in shape Juan Carlos Gomez shows up, he’ll box circles around Vladimr Virches over 12 rounds, easily confusing him by using the entire ring, using speedy combinations, pot-shots, and perhaps even busting Virches up a bit along the way to a 12 round victory. Gomez, W 12 Virches. But I’d be a liar if my prediction made me a little apprehensive.

Arthur Abraham should have absolutely no problem against an extremely fortunate, but tough 37-year-old Raul Marquez who deserves all the credit in the world for earning his right to fight by defeating the inside favorite, 26-0 Giovanni Lorenzo in an IBF eliminator scrap. The champ Abraham m ay be coming into his own as a tough-as-nails, technically very good boxer/puncher who may be just a bit smallish, which could be to his advantage as he pursues a show down with “What weight am I?” middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik. I pick “King” Arthur Abraham to stop a large-hearted Raul Marquez in about 9 rounds, by getting off his combinations faster, using angles to set up the left hook, and hitting Raul with shots a lot harder than he’s used to, from a champion whose damn near at an elite level.

Joe Calzaghe wants to put a final victim on the list of his perfect 45-0 record that Joe says means more to him than any world championships when he faces what’s supposed to be a doomed version of Roy Jones Jr. for nothing more than living out the dream of finally catching Jones at the end of both men’s careers, after continuously chasing after Jones during their prime. And by all means to keep his all-important undefeated record intact after the two meet. It won’t happen. Roy Jones Jr. is a rejuvenated man, and for this particular fight, a hungry fighter as well. Roy’s style will prove to be the undoing of an energetic, yet baffled Calzaghe. Roy will side-step Calzaghe’s furious rushes and counter with left hooks. Joe’s the boxer who normally enjoys sporting the quicker hand speed against his opponents, but Roy is faster. He’s also the bigger puncher of the two. The sneaky straight right hand that Bernard Hopkin s caught Joe with that knocked him down in the first round of their fight, Roy throws better and faster.

As Mikkel Kessler said of Calzaghe before and after their fight, “Joe spoils your boxing.” I see a reversal of roles here. With the fight being held at Madison Square Garden at 175 lbs, and with a confident ecstatic Roy Jones under the big lights once again in front of a sold out audience, and with the fight being broadcast worldwide, Roy spoils Joe’s boxing, and redeems himself after the last few years of doubt by the boxing public. Roy Jones W 12 Joe Calzaghe.

Money talks, and marquee fights walk hand-in-hand at its command, so when middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik decided to fight at a catch-weight vs. the timeless warrior, Bernard Hopkins who’s coming off of a loss in his last fight in defense of his light heavyweight championship to Joe Calzaghe, at first I wondered why this fight was taking place at all? But a quick look at the light heavyweight rankings, except for “King” Arthur Abraham, whose name isn’t well known enough in the States yet to demand the type of purse that Pavlik and camp believe Kelly deserves, it was simple to see there were no contenders of any note to perk the public’s interest enough for Kelly to make a meaningful fight. This fight could look a lot like of Bernard Hopkins’ past fights, with Pavlik throwing the majority of punches, with Hopkins countering with the more precise shots i n short blasts of combinations. Although my heart was with Joe Calzaghe when he defeated Hopkins in their fight just previously, after reviewing the fight three times I gave the fight to Bernard.

I have a feeling something similar may happen when he faces Pavlik. However this fight will answer some questions that hang in the air over both fighters: is Kelly Pavlik just a one-dimensional, straight-forward fighter he’s looked like at times, especially the second Jermain Taylor fight? At near 44-years-old, how will Bernard Hopkins, a guy who’s fought only in marquee fights over the last three years, look? Especially the stamina in his legs during the later rounds after being pressured by Pavlik all night? When does all of the pressure of preparing for, and then fighting in big fights begin to take a toll on a fighter like Bernard, who could possibly “get old overnight” by strictly being burned out? Hopkins has fought as high as light heavyweight and has never been hurt, and although Kelly’s a big middleweight, will he be able to be the first to dent Bernard’s chin? Probably not. Hopkins is always in great condition, although the curse of gravity has left him with some slightly loose body weight that comes with age. His hand-speed is very underrated, and his boxing ability, dexterity and ability to see what’s going on directly in front of him and adapt, then counter, make him a tactical nightmare for anyone. His big fight experience is an overwhelming plus20as well. And the last time he fought a big puncher who was moving up in weight and came straightforward throwing bombs, and pressing the fight all night long was the great Felix Trinidad. And Felix got knocked out.

But Kelly’s chin seems decent, although he’s been put down and hurt before, however he comes into fights in top shape, so his recuperative powers will always be a plus for him. With all that being pointed out, unless Bernard fights the fight of his life and stops Pavlik systematically, attacking underneath to the body, or exposing his lack of head movement, I’m not sure he’ll win. Kelly Pavlik isn’t as one-dimensional as a lot of folks say, but honestly, and I’ll most definitely hate myself for writing this later, but after Bernard has risen to the occasion, and gone to the emotional well so many times before, and at his age, this time I don’t see Bernard doing enough per round to seal a decision against a young fighter with the tenacity of Kelly Pavlik. Kelly Pavlik W12 Bernard Hopkins.

 

Continued ----------

BUT!!!! If Hopkins wins, it most definitely sets up a potential second fight against former conqueror Roy Jones Jr. the way I’ve called it. I’ll end this eccentric diatribe by saying that if Shane Mosley doesn’t KO Ricardo Mayorga within 9 rounds, I’ll be a drunken uncle. Jermain Taylor should beat the poor shell of Jeff Lacy over a bruising distance fight; I begrudgingly pick WBC welterweight champ Jeff Lac y, I mean Andre Berto, in an ultra-close win over Stevie Forbes, who I predict will expose, and really test the speedy champ; and finally, I think an emphatic conclusion to the IBO/WBC light heavyweight fight between Antonio Tarver and Chad Dawson would really make an incredibly important statement that would shake up the entire nondescript alphabet champions, who guard their worthless straps deep in the mountains some place in Europe and smothered in the mid-afternoon traffic of Argentina. This is no prediction, but if Antonio Tarver is struggling with his fat problem, I say with concrete hope, bring on the new blood! I sincerely hope Chad Dawson crushes Antonio Tarver. Or gives him a prolonged beating that finishes his loud-mouthed, one-hit wonder, eloquent stupidity for good.

 

Hate To Say I Told You So (But I Did!)
Sunday, October 26th, 2008 at 6:38 pm

BY PHILIP H. ANSELMO

From the moment the Bernard Hopkins-Kelly Pavlik fight was announced, I told every single colleague and anyone else that would listen, there was no chance in heck Bernard would lose. All I heard in return was how crazy I was. Look, as much as I really have enjoyed Pavlik’s dramatic rise to middleweight supremacy, I knew that when the **** hit the ever-spinning fan, Pavlik only knew how to fight one way; moving straight forward and throwing long-armed bombs at fighters that were willing to engage. Don’t blame Kelly for playing his part as a 160lb destroyer of such men, but the stand out performances that endeared him to our hearts, and won him the undisputed middleweight championship left him over confident and under equipped to deal with an ultra-savvy guy like Bernard.

To be quite honest, it was the Joe Calzaghe fight that convinced me completely that Hopkins would win the fight, and as easily as he did. In the weeks heading up to the Calzaghe-Hopkins fight, all speculation was that Joe would win in spectacular fashion, and perhaps even end ‘ol Popkins” career. Joe won, but it was far from spectacular, and Bernard would fight another day. However in that fight, besides Hopkins asserting his infamous style upon Calzaghe, who fell right into it, despite the fact that Joe was supposed to be the dictator; it was Hopkins hand speed that caught my attention. It definitely caught Calzaghe’s attention in round one, eating a straight “B-Hop” right and crumbling stunned to the canvas. Bernard’s hand speed was a thing of unexpected excellence. Whilst picking-off Calzaghe’s offensive bursts, often and effectively, finally forcing Joe to attempt to throw in hyper-combination which resulted in the “slap” look in a lot of his shots, Bernard’s counter-punching off the ropes were thrown textbook and landed squarely, hard against their intended target, looking perhaps a slight bit faster than Joe, who had the look of a guy who had the faster hands by a mile going into the contest. But that wasn’t the case at all. And I’m as guilty as anyone of believing the same thing. I was most definitely on the Joe Calzaghe bandwagon. Yeah, yeah, Joe threw 10,000 more punches, but the fact still remains that he’s lucky to have gotten out of that fight with a decision.
So, without any debate in my mind that Calzaghe is definitely faster and more versatile than Kelly Pavlik, the choice between Pavlik vs. Hopkins was easy to me. It’s two different styles, and Pavlik was doomed the second he signed the contracts. I’ve written this before, but the last fighter without a “Plan B” that fought Bernard, and kept advancing, fighting the only way he knew how, was the great Felix Trinidad. And Bernard KO’d him. And it was an upset, and fight Bernard was supposed to lose.

The only other fight for Kelly that made any dollars and sense was with Bernard’s last conqueror, Joe Calzaghe, probably at about the same catch-weight. And as confident as Kelly was at that stage, a fight with Joe would’ve produced a loss on Pavlik’s record as well. Kelly’s young. He needs to rest his beaten body and realize that there’s absolutely no shame in losing to a former two- weight division champ, Hall of Fame bound Bernard Hopkins.

If the fight between them wasn’t a learning experience for Kelly to implore angles and improve his boxing skills, I’d be surprised. It remains to be seen if you can teach a wounded young lion a different way to fight. And I’m not sure you can. As for Bernard, he has no reason what so ever to quit the game. But he should, unless one of my last predictions comes true…

Does it really shock anyone that Juan Carlos Gomez beat the ultimate in overrated, barring Sam Peter, in Ukraine Vladimir Virches so badly over twelve rounds that Virches is contemplating retirement?
Once again, their fight was a complete clash of styles, with JC Gomez, the former undefeated WBC cruiserweight champ, using every ounce of his experience, as well as the ring itself such is his style, to demoralize Virches by the fourth round on. The only thing JC has seemed to lose during his lengthy transformation into a full-fledged heavyweight threat is his KO power. With this victory, deemed an “elimination” bout for the number one spot and a crack at the WBC heavyweight champion, it’s really too bad Vitali Klitschko is the king there, and not the modern day, “no mas”

Sam Peter. JC Gomez would’ve beaten Peter, but against Vitali, JC would end up flat on the canvas, in a place where no dreams exist, wondering what truck just ran him over…

Which brings me to Vitali Klitschko’s complete domination of the biggest hype-turned joke over night in Sam Peter, for the “real” WBC title. As I predicted, with his ring rust left in the dressing room, the 37-year-old Klitschko boxed Peter’s ears off, minus the dramatic KO. Damn! By quitting the fight before the ninth round could begin, Peter deprived the world of a potentially highlight reel KO. I realize a fighter’s safety always comes first, but after all of Sam’s big talk and surly demeanor, he should at least go down fighting and crash on his shield! But he wasn’t in the fight at all, he knew there was no chance of a KO, so he quit. Peter has now lost to both Klitschko brothers. Where does he go now? Who cares? Congrats to Vitali on the victory. Now, whom will Vitali defend his title against? His mandatory, Juan Carlos Gomez, or will the talk of a $40, 000, 000 payday that’s been rumored to attempt to lure former undisputed champ Lennox Lewis out of retirement for a rematch? I’d hope Lennox realizes that combing the beaches of Jamaica and making babies are preferable to taking on either of the Klitschko’s. Vitali’s victory had to give little brother Wladimir a kick in the ass. And Wlad has been active, where Lewis, no matter how illustrious a career he’s had; has not been in a world title fight in a long time. Lennox Lewis has had his day…it’s the Klitschko brothers time…but which one will be crowned champion? My guess is Wladimir, eventually…

I picked IBF middleweight champ “King” Arthur Abraham over a 37 yr. old Raul Marquez, but alas, Arthur pulled out with an undisclosed illness. Either way, if and when they do fight, I still pick Abraham within the distance, perhaps by TKO9.

If he happens to stop Marquez in a quicker, more devastating showing, it wouldn’t doubt me at all. With Pavlik’s loss, “King” Arthur’s stock could rise rapidly. A quick stoppage of Raul, no matter how faded he is, would help Arthur a lot. Although a physically shorter man, Arthur Abraham could pose several different problems for Kelly Pavlik, in a match that should be made. Now! Pavlik needs redemption, and defeating a hard-punching, slick boxer like Abraham in a near complete unification bout would be extremely impressive and a blast to watch!

I still say Joe Calzaghe is in for more than he’s expecting when he faces what’s supposed to be an easy farewell fight with four-division former champ Roy Jones Jr. Once again, this is a styles-make-fights type of encounter, and I believe Joe’s made an awful mistake. In Madison Square Garden, Roy will shine; side stepping Calzaghe’s flurries, and countering with straight rights and whipping left hooks. Both guys possess great hand speed, but it’s Roy who carries more power. Bernard Hopkins, who gave Calzaghe all he wanted and more, was a different fighter before he fought Jones Jr. for the middleweight title back in the day, and whether he’d admit it or not, Bernard began to emulate Roy, eventually molding a hybrid style of his own. I’ve been called crazy before, but the results of my eccentric picks speak for themselves. Roy destroys Calzaghe’s coveted unbeaten streak by a convincing UD12. And there’s a good chance that by the ever-pivotal sixth round, the pattern of the fight will be as clear as thin air; Joe jabs and lunges with glancing, manic straight left-right combo’s while Roy turns and clenches, or counters. When Joe lunges, the straight right will be there on occasion. If Joe launches into an all out attack, Roy walks away, covers up and with surprisingly good footwork moves to the center of the ring, where Roy’s hand speed keeps Calzaghe at a respectful distance. Roy wins. Period.

And after he does, there’ll be a longtime coming, extremely lucrative score to settle with a still-pissed off Bernard Hopkins, who straight-up hated losing his middle title to Roy when they were just whippersnappers. That fight was a tentative affair between the two that left both fighters, and the public with a bit of an empty feeling although Roy won. A rematch with both guys at the age of 40 yrs. plus, may not live up to the media hype-injection the fight would surely receive during its build-up, but the fight’s a natural. And I predict, if it happens, the fight is pretty damn good, with Roy winning a razor-thin decision again.

Thank you Chad Dawson! In beating Antonio Tarver from pillar to post, the new blood has arrived in the light-heavyweight division! Of all the predictions I made, Dawson-Tarver had me a little stumped; until I realized that in defeating Glenn Johnson, the young Dawson showed a lot more balls than Antonio Tarver did in defeating a completely bunk Clinton Woods in boring fashion, instead of going for the KO.

That’s it for now-I’ll get back to all BI readers with the other forecasts I’ve made on future fights. And if you’re the betting type, I hypnotically suggest that after you read this and decide to lay some green down, if I happen to get one wrong; like a Manchurian candidate, you must do as I say: THIS REPORT NEVER EXISTED–

 

Been a while since I've added new Phil articles to this thread. I had to take a break from the net but here are the latest one's.

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The Destruction Of A Myth By Philip H. Anselmo
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 12:47 pm

THE DESTRUCTION OF A MYTH - SUGAR SHANE KO’S MARGARITO BY PHILIP H. ANSELMO

Utilizing the absolutely perfect game plan, freshly crowned WBA welterweight champion “Sugar” Shane Mosely (46-5, 39 KO’s) *********, and knocked out 4-1 betting favorite, and now former champ Antonio Margarito (37-6, 27), 0:43 into the ninth round, whilst looking like an all-time great in the process.

In what was lauded as a mismatch by most boxing insiders going into the fight, proved to be a classic case of what a master boxer can do to a face first brawler. From the outset, Mosely’s game plan of staying chest-to-chest-close to Margarito without excessive holding, smothering his foe’s non-effective punches and countering with pinpoint accuracy, worked like a charm.

Most importantly Shane exploited Margarito’s freight train rushes with a clinical display of distance usage and multiple, rapid fire combinations that disrupted anything Antonio had to offer.

It was a tactical masterpiece on Shane’s behalf, and a notable observation was his use of the clock.

Shane would negate Antonio’s offense and counter for the first two minutes of each round, and then almost to the very second, he’d pour on an offensive burst of meaningful, vicious shots in the final minute, the way only great fighters can do, and have done.

Shane shocked the world! Straight up

I’ll be the first to admit, when the fight was originally announced, the first thoughts that immediately filled my jaded skull were the obvious: Margarito’s too big; Shane’s too old; the toe-to-toe battle Shane fought with Miguel Cotto only to lose a decision, and finally, Margarito’s pressurized destruction of Cotto.

I picked Margarito haphazardly, as did all of my collective colleagues, by late round TKO. There was no chance in Hell a single one of us could’ve predicted what actually transpired in the ring.

As the first two rounds went by, I saw double and triple jabs with the right hand behind it working for Shane. His defense was impeccable, as was his control of the ring. In the third, Margarito attempted to step up his attack to no avail, as Mosley would simply keep out of Antonio’s punching range with far-superior in-and-out footwork, or immediately move inside, shutting down Margarito’s attack completely. To be able to stop the supposedly unstoppable Margarito’s forward progress to such a drastic degree was beyond comprehension, but Shane’s chances of hurting Antonio was another question all together. From the look of Margarito’s past handful of victories, and Mosley’s semi-recent inability to KO top-notch welters, it seemed downright impossible to foresee the occurrence that unfolded.

After the conclusion of round four, a round in which Margarito attempted to box with the boxer, the constant flow of hard right hand leads from Mosley, along with the inability to land a single punch of significance, begat a look of an already frustrated, defeated fighter on Margarito’s face.

Shane had seemingly turned the clock back, harkening his years at lightweight, where he dominated and his speed-equaled power.

And his power on this night was enough to put a dent in the chin of Margarito; a man who’d walked through the punches of most of the so-called “punchers” in the welterweight division, including that of the much-avoided Paul Williams.

Rounds five and six were no better for Margarito, as Mosley increased his power-punch output. As Antonio looked to be tiring, Shane ripped left hooks to his body, and his right hand, which landed at will throughout the fight thus far, looked to have Margarito buzzing.

Round seven was as good as it got for Antonio. After such a hyperactive, round sweeping start, Shane basically took this heat off. Margarito mauled him against the ropes, and threw his best punches of the night. Mosley’s relaxed demeanor and textbook defense prevailed over Antonio’s agro-offensive lunges, which consisted of mostly cuffing shots to the defended head of Mosley. One of Margarito’s right hands managed to sneak through as Shane uncharacteristically pulled straight back, causing Mosley to shake his head in disappointment at his brief lapse in concentration.

The feeling I took away from that moment was that Mosley felt in complete control. He had outclassed Margarito to such an extent over the first half of the fight, it looked Shane could do wrong. If the brief respite Shane took in the 7th appeared to be a sign of exhaustion, his performance in the 8th would dispel such a myth, literally.

With Margarito enjoying his best stand in the previous round, when the bell sounded for round 8, the momentum seemed to be shifting his way. Mosley had other ideas.

With a minute to go, in a much more progressively active effort by a rejuvenated Mosley, a slashing right hand aimed at Margarito’s head missed wildly, but the next one didn’t, and a follow up barrage of homerun shots, capped off by a signature left hook, setting up yet another multiple-punch salvo from Shane, dropped Antonio in a troubled heap. Margarito was given the benefit of the doubt by referee Raul Caiz Jr, by not stopping the fight, and allowing the defeated champion to stumble to his corner at the bell. In truth, such a bold decision by a ref is inexcusable. Margarito was out on his feet, concussed, and in no shape to continue. A proven warrior like Margarito, or any other boxer in the world for that matter, shouldn’t be subject to permanent damage.

A referee should not allow himself to live through a fighters’ courage, when that fighter’s life is at stake.

The issue of Antonio’s wellbeing was the topic of discussion in his corner between rounds. Many of Margarito’s corner men voiced their opinion that the fight be stopped. Alas, Margarito’s pride and toughness proved to be his undoing in round nine.

Mosley jumped right on his injured foe and pinned him against the ropes, delivering more punishment and then punctuating his massive upset with a blunt-force right hand that sent Antonio sprawling to the canvas again, just as the ref stepped in simultaneously as the towel of surrender was thrown from Margarito’s corner to stop the onslaught.

A Mosley-Cotto rematch looks to be a logical next-step for Shane, especially if Miguel wins the vacant WBO strap next week vs. unheralded Michael Jennings. With the likes of WBC champ Andre Berto and IBF kingpin Joshua Clottey out there, HBO should cough up the cash or find it, to cement a welterweight tournament RIGHT NOW! Besides the aforementioned Cotto rematch, Shane vs. young Berto could be a nice little scrap to watch style-wise, and a fight vs. the very strong Clottey may be a winnable contest. Remember, just as Margarito was supposed to be too strong for Mosley, the same adage could be applied if Shane were to face Clottey.

Both fights could be winnable for Shane if his newfound momentum and full-fledged power remain at the level it was in dismantling Margarito. If the hypothetical tournament were to happen, and Mosley became the unified welterweight champ of the world, there’d be no better way to end his already HOF career.

It’s no wonder Floyd Mayweather Jr. wouldn’t fight Shane during his brief, forgettable stint at the top of both, the welterweights and PFP lists back in the day. With all of the talk going around about Floyd returning to the ring vs. the likes of Ricky Hatton or Manny Pacquiao and so forth, to be truthful and point-blank, Hatton is no Mosley, and as far as Pac-Man is concerned, he’d be just another little guy for Floyd to prey on, and more importantly, cash in another huge payday fighting a guy smaller than him, a la Hatton.

I couldn’t give two f%*k’s if Floyd EVER fights again, but if he does, let’s hope for the sake of boxing that he fights a man he has a chance of losing to for a change.

And right now, that man would be the #1 rated welterweight in the world: WBA champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley.

So don’t expect Floyd to come out of retirement anytime soon.

This is Shane Mosley’s story, and this is his time.