Tuesday 26 April 2016

Drugs cheat Erkan Teper exposed.


Unbeaten Turkish heavyweight Erkan Teper is to be finally removed from the current IBF ratings, regarding his failed drugs test following his July 2015 knockout win over David Price in a European title fight in Germany..   The results took until December to come to light and Price, who is self managed is bewildered as to why the results were never disclosed publicly sooner and wonders if Sauerland promotions had never pursued the case as aggressively as they did, the tests might have just been swept under the carpet..  By December 2nd, the EBU still maintained the Teper knockout victory over Price would still stand, however the European title would be declared vacant, an outrageous decision, However.... This story gets more interesting..
It was revealed that Teper had tested positive for drostanolone after his win over Newfel Ouatah last June and to date this result has still not been overturned, the commission failed to comment..  These findings are exposing a massive incompetence in the German Boxing Commision..  Following the original dope test failing, the German broadcast network 'Beyerischer Rundfunk' claims that police found Clenbuterol, testosterone, growth hormone and methandrostenolone is a drugs raid on Tepers home in April..  Price himself did some investigating of his own and found out through a good source that the failed sample given by Teper in July contained an outrageously high trace, the highest trace of a banned stimulant the doping agency had ever encountered, which the Commision would have known about within weeks of the bout, yet by September Teper had thus far faced no repercussions and had in fact been pencilled in to face Robert Helenius six weeks later, before pulling out due to an injury..
So here we are a full year later, as of yesterday Teper was still ranked in the IBFs top 10 rankings, and the Price result had yet to be corrected...  However today Price and the EBU have both been assured that Teper's dirty past has finally caught up with him, both the result and ranking are soon to be rectified..  David Price hasn't boxed since the loss last year and is still a little angry about the blemishes on his otherwise impeccable record..   Two losses to American Tony Thompson who himself failed drugs tests following their second bout, yet again a tainted result that stains the Liverpool mans 19/3 record..  Let's hope that the future isn't so lenient on dope cheats in boxing, it's a tough enough sport as it stands..

Sunday 24 April 2016

Golovkin disposes of Wade in 2..


WBA , IBF and IBO world middleweight King Gennady Golovkin successfully defended his title for the 16th time with a second round annihilation of previously unbeaten 26 year old Dominick Wade 18/0, at the Inglewood forum in Los Angeles..  The Maryland fighter started at long range, trying to elude Golovkin's power early, Golovkin got Wades attention towards the end of the first round with a right hand before scoring a flash knockdown..  Round two saw Wade enjoy some success, landing combinations on the champion who was trying to close the distance down. Halfway through the round Golovkin dropped Wade with a left uppercut, right hand combination which saw the challenger rise reluctantly at 9, Referee Jack Reiss allowed The brave fighter the benefit of the doubt in continuing, but it was short lived as Golovkin ended the show with another huge overhand right..  Dominick Wade was a live opponent, but was never in any way a threat to the universally acknowledged worlds number one middleweight..  Wade verified afterwards that there was nothing much he could have done differently, and that Golovkin's power is very real..   Golovkin's next test should be the winner of Cinco de Mayo in Vegas, Canelo v Khan, but a fight of that magnitude doesn't happen overnight..  The disposal of Wade proves nothing that we didn't already know..

The undercard saw Roman Gonzales defend his WBC flyweight crown with a 12 round unanimous decision over tough McWilliams Arroyo..

Saturday 23 April 2016

Erroll Spence destroys Algeri in 5, makes a bold statement..


Erroll the truth Spence appears to be the new lightening rod in the welterweight division following a highly explosive demolition job on the usually durable Chris Algeri last weekend in Brooklyn.  Algeri is 21/2 with respectable losses to Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan, but Spence superseded both Khan and Pacquiao's performances by stopping the 32 year old New Yorker in a highly charged 5 rounds..  Spence took the high profile opportunity to showcase himself for a major fight in 2016, the former Olympian is currently 20/0 with 17 knockouts and improving each time out..  Top of the Spence hit list is current IBF champion Kell Brook, who since beating Shawn Porter little over a year ago hasn't defended against top drawer opposition..  Erroll hasn't boxed for a single professional title yet, but he's headed in that direction..   Spence showed maturity v Algeri, picking his punches and closing down the distance before luring Algeri onto his heavier ammunition..   Although highly touted so early in his career, a few negative onlookers have recently made a rather premature comparison between Spence and Jeff Lacy, calling Spence a potential hype job..  Regardless, I don't see welterweights queuing up to face him in a hurry..

Wednesday 13 April 2016

Anthony Joshua snatches the IBF title from Charles Martin.



On Saturday night at the O2 London, Anthony Joshua barely got into second gear for his first world title fight against reigning IBF champion, Prince Charles Martin..  Unbeaten himself, Martin came to the uk looking to make a bold statement by defending against the hottest young heavyweight around, but never anticipated the wrath we would be facing. Joshua took the first round to really have a look at his opponent, a dangerous southpaw on paper, but at the close of the round it was evident that the Americans pre fight bravado was no reflected by his tepid start, the second round saw both men try to exchange, Martin appearing apprehensive after feeling Joshua's power. The breakthrough came a minute into the round, Martin reached in with a overhand left, a shot that was countered efficiently by Joshua with a straight right which dropped the champion, a flash knockdown but enough to send alarm bells ringing, moments after rising he would once again walk onto a second Joshua right hand, this time sending Martin sprawling across the canvas, with a nervous grin on his face the American attempted to rise, but had no intention and was counted out as he stood..  Joshua never really had the chance to explode into action on his biggest night, but the message is now very clear, that Anthony Joshua has arrived, the new IBF heavyweight champion in just 34 professional rounds..   Joshua knows that he is the vulnerable of the current champions, but it is clear that he is the one improving the fastest..    Charles Martin looks now to have been one of the shortest reigning belt holders in the championships history, he won the vacant title only 11 weeks ago in Brooklyn after Czar Glazkov retired with a bizarre knee injury in the 3rd round, it was a gutsy decision to call out such a dangerous first defence, but it has cost him the chance to be a memorable champion..

The undercard featured an entertaining middleweight battle between Birminghams Matthew Macklin and Blackpools Brian Rose, both fighters gave everything in a fairly close affair which I had Rose winning after 12, Macklin was given a unanimous decision of 115/115 twice and 113/113 even..

Barrys Lee Selby retained his IBF world featherweight title with a convincing points verdict over tough Philadelphian Eric Hunter, Hunter had Selby on the floor for the first time in his career with a slick left hook, but had points deducted for continual low blows..  

The debuting Conor Benn, son of former legendary champion Nigel Benn had a successful introduction to the pro game with a first round knockout of Ivailo Boyanov