http://youtube.com/watch?v=G_s2YGJR57k?rel=0
Here at TQBR we don’t like to promote any violence of the non-sanctioned-outside-the-ring variety. But the above video is pretty funny. The hobo would have been a lot better off if he obeyed the old maxim “never bring a pair of crutches to a roadblock fight.”
For the first time in what seems like forever, there are plenty of fights of the traditional fistic variety on this week. There’s an eastern bloc-themed HBO show, a middleweight title fight from Germany and a bunch of other offerings including the premiere of 24/7 Chavez Jr./Martinez.
- Gennady Golovkin vs. Grzegorz Proksa, Saturday, HBO, Verona N.Y. Boxing returns to HBO after a lengthy absence with Kazakh middleweight sensation and Olympic silver medallist Gennady Golovkin headlining. Golovkin (23-0) used to be something of a point and click, central Asian jabber, but has reportedly turned into a very, powerful and scary beast who’s unable to keep sparring partners around. That doesn’t bode well for Poland’s Proksa (28-1), an awkward lefty in the mode of Sergio Martinez or Dimitri Pirog. Tim Starks will have the full preview, but this is a good match-up that is meant to, and likely will, showcase Golovkin’s aggression and talent. On the undercard, Puerto Rican junior middleweight prospect Jonathan Gonzalez (15-0) takes an enormous step up against Sergiy Dzinziruk (37-1), best remembered by American fans for his brave impersonation of a Bozo the clown punching bag against Sergio Martinez in March last year. Dzinziruk might have the best southpaw jab in the sport. He shoots it out, lightning fast, from behind a fortresslike high guard, peppering, cutting and eventually wearing down his opponents. Gonzalez, on the other hand, looks like nothing special. He’s ponderously slow of hand and foot and is there to be hit. Billy Lyell, a gatekeeper with absolutely no power, gave him all he could handle in his last fight. Gonzalez isn’t nuanced enough to find holes in Dzinziruk’s defence and isn’t astute enough to avoid his jab. It’s going to be a long night for the young Gonzalez. Dzinziruk, who’s not that exciting to watch, establishes himself as a bit of a name in a crowded division with a win. If Gonzalez somehow manages to beat him, there’ll be a line around the block to fight the fun, limited, HBO showcased Puerto Rican.
- Felix Sturm vs. Daniel Geale, Saturday, Oberhausen Germany. With every fight, long-time middleweight titleholder Felix Sturm seems more vulnerable. Will Australia’s Daniel Geale be the one to finally knock him off, after doing the same to his compatriot Sebastian Sylvester? Potentially. The two most recent fighters to give Sturm (37-2-2) static were a pair of British brawlers, Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray. Geale (27-1) doesn’t fight in that mould, instead preferring to box with a high work rate. We’ll see if the 33-year-old German veteran can hang with his pace. Sturm, despite his high guard, is a fast and relatively hard puncher. The Aussie tends to square up a bit, so he may fall victim to Sturm’s eye-catching straight counters. Geale has claimed to be developing his power in the last year and, if such a thing is possible, he may need it by the later rounds. If Sturm wins expect him to continue to hold his title hostage in Europe. If Geale wins, however, it sets up some very interesting bouts with Golovkin, Pirog and the winner of Martinez/Chavez.
- The Rest. Thomas Dulorme (15-0), a Puerto Rican welterweight prospect with a cracking right hand that many are high on faces Yoryi Estrella (10-7-2), who’s record over his last six fights is 0-5-1, in a squash match on Friday… Saturday sees an abundance of international boxing, beginning with South African strawweight boss Nkosinathi Joyi (22-0) facing Mexico’s Mario Rodriguez (14-6-4), who’s had a nice winning streak of late, on Fox Deportes… There’s also a traditional Japanese/Thai junior bantamweight showdown between Nobuo Nashiro (18-4-1) and Tepparith Kokietgym (20-2) in Osaka… It’s a big weekend for South Africans fighting in Central America, with flyweight Moruti Mthalane (28-2) facing Panama’s Ricardo Nunez (22-2) at home… Finally, Saturday brings the premiere of HBO’s 24/7 series for Sergio Martinez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. It’ll be great to get some new blood into a show that’s really struggled to capture the imagination of hardcore fans in recent years.
