World Boxing Super Series Season 1 thread: 9/28 DAZN Groves vs Smith (WBA Super Middleweight Title)

[Bigblackted4]

Man they just doing this to move it to Russia in July for more $$.

I was waiting on this fight too

Spot on

 

[patscorpio]

 

[patscorpio]

Abel Sanchez: If Usyk Hangs in There Too Long, He May Get KO'd

By Rick Reeno

Las Vegas - Abel Sanchez, the head trainer of WBA, IBF cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev (26-0, 19 KOs), believes his boxer's punching power is the difference in the upcoming unification with WBC, WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk (14-0, 11 KOs).

The final bout of the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament, is scheduled for July 21 at Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia.

"I'll tell you this, I have a big fight on September 15th with Golovkin and Canelo, I have another fight in the fall with Alex Saucedo and Maurice Hooker. That fight with Usyk, I see that as the toughest of the three," Sanchez told BoxingScene.com.

Usyk, an Olympic gold medal winner with an impressive amateur record, is the favorite.

"It's a very tough fight. I think the difference might be the power [of Gassiev]. If Usyk is stupid enough to hang in there too long - he could get hurt or might get knocked out. Usyk is an exceptional fighter. This a very difficult fight for both fighters," Sanchez said.

Back in January, Usyk was taken to his physical limit when he won a very close twelve round majority decision over undefeated Mairis Briedis.

Sanchez is not focusing on that performance. He's very confident that Usyk will never fight Gassiev in the same manner that he fought Briedis.

"In his last fight, the way he fought against Briedis.... I can guarantee you that he won't fight that way against Gassiev. He fought that way against Briedis because he didn't think Briedis could do anything to him," Sanchez said.

"A lot of these guys, when they don't perceive a threat - they fight in a different style. When Gassiev fought Dorticos, for the first four or five rounds, we let Dorticos throw his punches to deplete him a little bit. But Usyk, I don't think that he's going to allow Gassiev to beat on him for four or five rounds."

 

[patscorpio]

 

[ℒℴѵℯJay ELECTUA]

 

[KingOFKings]

Ppl are sleeping on this

 

[Bigblackted4]

Yeah if I don’t watch live I’ll catch a replay without knowing the result I need this

 

[patscorpio]

damned good article...if the CW final produces a fade and/or a FOTY candidate this will prolly be my favorite tournament that i have ever watched in boxing

3 of the fights in the quarterfinals were straight fades, the lone 1 was a dud and the 2 semi final fights are FOTY contenders with one of them also being a KO of the year candidate

The WBSS at Cruiserweight Worked (and That’s No Small Feat)

By Cliff Rold

Tournaments in boxing can be a lot of fun. They can also be a hot mess.

Those two things are not mutually exclusive.

The World Boxing Super Series at Cruiserweight has managed to be the former without being the latter and for that alone it deserves kudos. That it will culminate with one of the best fights, on paper, that can be made in any weight division does as well. Oleksandr Usyk-Murat Gassiev is fantastic stuff.

Perhaps more than anything, the fact that the field began with eight and will be looked back on as just eight is sort of extraordinary.

In recent vintage, any proposed field of more than four fighters has almost always run into a snag along the way. The famous 1980s heavyweight unification tournament lost Michael Spinks almost as soon as it started. The Super Six super middleweight tournament ultimately featured eight official entrants and an appearance by Sakio Bika as an unofficial ninth.

The parallel WBSS tournament at super middleweight shows how hard it can be. It had to add an extra fighter to the field in the semi-finals and still has yet to announce a date for the final between WBA titlist George Groves and Callum Smith. It’s gotten to the point where Groves took to Twitter this week to lament the lack of a date, but of course an injury suffered in his semi-final win over Chris Eubank Jr. extended the calendar for the final in the first place.

Again, these are tough to pull off.

Four man fields have been simpler. The middleweight unification tournament in 2001 and the Showtime bantamweight from 2010-11 came off intact, the latter even having room for what amounted to a third place match.

The variables of boxing get in the way at each layer of competition. The WBSS at super middleweight lost Juergen Braehmer to illness. The Super Six lost Jermain Taylor to retirement and Andre Dirrell and Mikkel Kessler to injury. Spinks gambled that he would find a bigger paycheck waiting for the winner of the heavyweight tournament and was right, ninety-one seconds or not.

Boxing followers recognized this cruiserweight field as potentially special from the announcement of the tournament. It was almost too good to be true. With a titlist from each of the four major sanctioning bodies, it promised the possibility of the coronation of a truly undisputed champion at the end.

There were, because it is boxing, technicalities. The WBA representative, Yunier Dorticos, wasn’t the actual lead champion of the organization. He was their sub-titlist despite IBF titlist Murat Gassiev having defeated WBA “super” titlist Denis Lebedev just prior to the tournament. Prior to his semi-final clash with Gassiev, Dorticos was elevated to full titlist just in time for the four-way clash of undefeated titlists the field was seeded for from the start.

The anticipation is high heading into this Saturday’s clash between the IBF/WBA beltholder Gassiev (26-0, 19 KO) and WBO/WBC standard-bearer Oleksandr Usyk (14-0, 11 KO). The way the tournament played out only helps. Even if the final falls short of a classic, the semi-finals provided more than enough thrills.

Gassiev’s last round knockout of Dorticos in February was one of the best fights to date in 2018. Usyk’s win over Mairis Briedis was just damn good. There were no terrible decisions, no lengthy delays for injury, no missed PED tests, and the action in the ring meant both finalists really had to earn their way to the finish line.

So far, this is boxing done right in almost every way.

Make sure someone doesn’t walk under a ladder, step on a crack, or slip in the shower before Saturday and that’s enough to let out a sigh of relief.

Will the next iteration of the WBSS find similar success?

Three tournaments have been discussed with two fields, at bantamweight and Jr. welterweight, already loaded up and ready to go. Both have plenty of talent and intrigue. Of the two, bantamweight is the one that most resembles the cruiserweight version.

While it hasn’t been seeded yet (the ‘draft’ is intended for Friday on the eve of the cruiserweight final) one can wager a pretty educated guess that the beltholders will take the top four slots. Those men are Naoya Inoue (WBA sub), Ryan Burnett (WBA super), Emmanuel Rodriguez (IBF), and Zolani Tete (WBO). The WBC title is currently vacant after Luis Nery lost the belt on the scales, the only hitch for those who want to see undisputed as only having all the belts.

For everyone else, this tournament, like cruiserweight, will crown a crystal clear champion in the class.

Rodriguez is already slated for a mandatory against Jason Moloney and of the other three Tete could easily be matched with WBO lead contender Juan Carlos Payano. That would leave future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Mikhail Aloyan for Inoue and Burnett in some order.

How it officially shakes out beyond Rodriguez-Moloney remains to be determined. The chances this could come off as well as cruiserweight is there. Of the men entering with belts, the 30-year old Tete is the oldest. Inoue (25), Burnett (26), and Rodriguez (25) make this a youthful collection.

Youth often means risk, desire, and action. Can the field hold steady at eight? Can lightning strike twice for the WBSS?

This Saturday we get to see it finish striking for the first time.

 

[patscorpio]

Photos: Usyk, Gassiev - Go Face To Face at Final Press Conference

Photos by Ludo Saenz

The World Boxing Super Series final and unification bout between Aleksandr Usyk (14-0, 11 KOs) and Murat Gassiev (26-0, 19 KOs), one of the most anticipated boxing match-ups in years, will take place on Saturday July 21 at the Olimpiysky Sports Complex in Moscow, Russia.

Comosa AG is very happy to announce a date and venue for the spectacular Cruiserweight Final. The Olimpiysky Sports Complex in Moscow will provide an amazing location for the first Ali Trophy Final in history with two supremely gifted athletes with rare opportunity to write history.

Plans to hold the final of the inaugural season in May had to be revised after Usyk declared that he had sustained an elbow injury during his training camp. The injury was checked by Comosa approved medical staff who agreed with the extent of the injury and recovery timeframe. This meant that the cruiserweight final date, and therefore venue, had to be moved.

The mouthwatering final will be a key event during a weekend of boxing activities in the Russian capital in celebration of International Boxing Day after Comosa were invited to bring and supervise the first final of The Greatest Prize in Boxing - The Ali Trophy - to the festival of pugilism.

The route to the final in Moscow was paved with drama exceeding the expectations and the tournament’s number 1 seed Usyk and 2nd seed Gassiev both awed in their quarter- and semi-finals.

London 2012 Olympic gold medalist, Ukrainian Aleksandr Usyk, kicked off the cruiserweight tournament September 9 last year by spectacularly stopping Marco Huck, a former record-breaking World Champion, in the 10th round in Berlin, Germany.

In his semi-final against WBC World Champion Mairis Briedis in Riga, Usyk won a majority points decision after an action-packed thriller with great heart and unrelenting pace throughout the 12 rounds.

Russian Gassiev, the youngest member of cruiserweight lineup, needed just three rounds in his quarter-final in Newark, USA to dispatch the former World Champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk with a devastating body shot.

In an ultra-entertaining semi-final in Sochi, Russia Gassiev stopped the previously unbeaten WBO World Champion Yunier Dorticos with just eight seconds remaining of the 12th and final round.

And the dream final between Aleksandr Usyk vs Murat Gassiev became reality.

 

[patscorpio]

nice little article on the history of cruiserweight - Oleksandr Usyk-Murat Gassiev and THE RING cruiserweight championship - The Ring

BY TOM GRAY
OK, let’s talk cruiserweight.

The first world championship fight took place in December 1979 when Mate Parlov and Marvin Camel fought to a 15-round draw in a battle for the vacant WBC version in Split, Croatia.

At the time, the cruiserweight limit was 190 pounds and the division was also known as “junior heavyweight.” As time passed, all four recognized governing bodies would crown “cruiserweight” titleholders, and by 2006 the division limit had switched to 200 pounds. The reason for the change was that heavyweights had grown bigger and this new number would allow smaller heavyweight fighters to participate in a more functional weight class.

This Saturday, either Oleksandr Usyk or Murat Gassiev, who are rated No. 1 and No. 2 by THE RING respectively, will become the 11th RING champion at cruiserweight. The first holder was Puerto Rico’s Carlos De Leon who was awarded the belt in early 1984. The most recent RING champion was Cuban boxer-puncher Yoan Pablo Hernandez, who retired in September 2015, leaving the 200-pound championship vacant.

Below is a retrospective on the eight fighters who have been named RING champion at 190 or 200 pounds. Ironically, the greatest cruiserweight who has ever lived, Evander Holyfield, is missing from the list, which is akin to talking great shark movies without mentioning Jaws. The reason for this is THE RING stopped recognizing the cruiserweight division in 1987, presumably because the talent pool was too shallow. Oh, how times have changed.

(Editor’s Note: THE RING championship policy was discontinued due to change of ownership in 1989 and recommenced in 2001)

Carlos De Leon (Feb. 3, 1984 – June 6, 1985) – De Leon, the WBC titleholder, had defeated Marvin Camel twice and regained the crown when he avenged a defeat to S.T. Gordon. The Puerto Rican boxer-puncher also had a win over Mexican dangerman Yaqui Lopez. THE RING awarded DeLeon the inaugural title, recognizing him as the premier fighter at 190 pounds.

Alfonzo Ratliff (June 6, 1985 – Sept. 21, 1985) – Yes, that guy who ran away from a rampaging Mike Tyson in September 1986 was a decent cruiserweight. Ratliff scored a 12-round split decision over De Leon to claim THE RING and WBC titles and his greatest triumph. However, the Mississippi native’s Cinderella story would be short-lived.

Bernard Benton (Sept. 21, 1985 – Mar. 22, 1986) – Having suffered defeats to Marvis Frazier and Donnie Long, Bernard “The Bull” Benton was far from being a household name. However, on the undercard of the first Larry Holmes-Michael Spinks fight in Las Vegas, Benton had enough to score a 12-round unanimous decision over Ratliff.

Carlos De Leon (Mar. 22, 1986 – Mar. 30, 1987) – In his first bout since losing to Ratliff, De Leon managed to squeeze past Benton with a 12-round majority decision. However, just over a year later, THE RING stopped recognizing the cruiserweight division. De Leon held the title until April 1988 when he was stopped by Holyfield in a clash for the undisputed championship.

Jean-Marc Mormeck (Apr. 2, 2005 – Jan. 7, 2006) – It had been 18 years since THE RING had crowned a cruiserweight champion. Mormeck and Wayne Braithwaite were WBC and WBA titleholders respectively when they were matched for the vacant belt. Frenchman Mormeck floored his hard-hitting rival in the seventh before claiming a 12-round unanimous decision.

O’Neil Bell (Jan. 7, 2006 – March 17, 2007) – In an oft-forgotten showdown for the undisputed cruiserweight championship, IBF titleholder Bell added RING, WBA and WBC titles to his collection with a stunning 10th-round knockout of Mormeck. The champion was behind on two cards at the time of the stoppage. Editor’s Note: This fight was billed as an undisputed championship fight despite Johnny Nelson being in possession of the WBO title.

Jean-Marc Mormeck (Mar. 17, 2007 – Nov. 10, 2007) – Mormeck managed to lure his conqueror to France for a rematch and once again it was a grueling encounter. After building up a commanding lead, Mormeck tired in the championship rounds. Bell came very close to securing a second stoppage victory in the championship rounds, but Mormeck survived to regain RING, WBA and WBC titles by 12-round unanimous decision.

David Haye (Nov. 10, 2007 – May 23, 2008) – Haye was a brash power-puncher from the U.K. who was shockingly derailed by countryman Carl Thompson in his 11th pro fight. However, “The Hayemaker” had regrouped, improved his game, captured the European championship and Mormeck was the acid test. Haye survived a fourth-round knockdown to claim RING, WBA and WBC titles with a dramatic seventh-round stoppage.

Tomasz Adamek (Dec. 11, 2008 – Feb. 20, 2010) – Haye vacated his titles shortly after defeating Welshman Enzo Maccarinelli and moved north to heavyweight. The vacant RING title would be up for grabs between Adamek and Steve Cunningham. Despite being dropped three times Cunningham boxed extremely well, however the scoring deficit was too much to overcome. Adamek claimed a 12-round split decision to claim RING and IBF crowns.

Yoan Pablo Hernandez (Feb. 4, 2012 – Sept. 29, 2015) – Like Haye before him, Adamek elected to chase the dollar signs up at heavyweight. The vacant RING title was contested between Hernandez and Cunningham. Hernandez, who had defeated the American four months earlier by technical decision, floored his man twice in the fourth and claimed a deserved 12-round unanimous decision.

Usyk and Gassiev will contest THE RING, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO cruiserweight titles in the final of the World Boxing Super Series at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow. The victor will also receive the Muhammad Ali trophy.

 

[Rev Leon Lonnie Love]

got out the bushes just in time for this fight
View media item 17666

 

[Thatrogueassdiaz]

What time? What channel?

 

[Bigblackted4]

KlowdTV right but what time I need to find a Kodi stream

 

[ℒℴѵℯJay ELECTUA]

so who everyone picking???

 

[patscorpio]

so who everyone picking???

gassiev by late KO