Last Saturday night in Nottingham, battle tested British super-middleweight Carl Froch took on American speedster Andre Dirrell in the first round of Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic.
Photographer Justin McKie was ringside at the Trent FM Arena to capture all the action from the much anticipated super-middleweight clash.
Carl Froch vs Andre DirrellPhotos © Justin McKie - Click on the images to enlarge. 
The 26 year old from Flint, Michigan, brought a perfect 18-0 record into the contest.
The hometown fighter is coming off his two biggest victories - a unanimous decision over Jean Pascal and a last minute stoppage of Jermain Taylor - and sports a perfect record of 25-0.
Dirrell also mixed in plenty of movement, avoiding much of Froch's early attacks with his fast feet and quick reflexes.
The action intensified in the 3rd and 4th round, with Froch upping the pressure, but still having a hard time catching up with the speedy American.
The action started to get a little messy as the bout moved into the mid rounds. The fighters often came together awkwardly, with Dirrell slipping to the canvas more than once.
Froch was cautioned on more than one occasion for hitting behind the head, while referee Hector Afu was forced to warn Dirrell several times for holding. Eventually Afu took a point from the American for excessive holding.
Boasting a significant edge in hand speed, Dirrell often beat Froch to the punch when he lets his hands go.
Above - Referee Afu looks on as Froch lands a hard left hook. Froch had many of his best moments during the second half of the fight, with Dirrell occasionally looking rattled by the pressure.
After struggling through rounds 6-9, Dirrell came to life at the end of round 10 and closed strong over the final two frames. Below he lands a hard left hand between Froch's guard. 
After 12 hard fought rounds, the decision was as contentious as the action, with the judges disagreeing on the winner.
Judge Alejandro Rochin Mapula scored it 114-113 for Dirrell, but was overruled by judge's Massimo Barrovecchio and Daniel Van de Wiele, who both had Froch in front by 115-112 scores.
Next up for Froch will be a trip to Denmark to face perhaps the most complete fighter in the tournament, Mikkel Kessler. Dirrell has his work cut out as well, as he'll be going up against Germany's heavy handed Arthur Abraham.
The post-fight press conference. Dirrell is seated with promoter Gary Shaw, while Froch is accompanied by Rob McCracken.One Last Shot 
Bonus Pre-Fight Video
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Thursday, October 22, 2009
Photo Gallery: Carl Froch vs Andre Dirrell
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Determined Bradley Tops Holt
Michael Nelson recaps the action from last night's Showtime card.
Photo © Justin McKie
Timothy Bradley brought his lunch pail and hard hat to the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada Saturday night in his WBO and WBC unification bout, surviving two knockdowns to outwork the explosive Kendall Holt. The decision was unanimous, with the tenacious Bradley winning by scores of 115-111 twice, and 114-112.
On the undercard, Librado Andrade dominated Vitali Tsypko en route to his own unanimous decision, 120-108, and 117-109 twice.
In the opening round, Bradley came out aggressive, putting his focus on the body of his lanky adversary. But a beautiful Holt left hook immediately took Bradley off his feet and let him know that he was in with a man who possessed more power and speed he has ever encountered.
Bradley, a 25 year old who began his professional boxing career in 2004, showed the composure of a veteran, bouncing back up but taking a knee to ensure a cleared head. Kendall landed a few more punishing left hooks during the remainder of the round.
Bradley was undeterred. He continued to work steadfastly to the body as Holt looked to potshot him. In the fourth, their heads collided, and Holt got the worst of it as a cut developed over his right eye.
While Holt remained dangerous throughout the fight, it became clear in the 7th and 8th round that Bradley's body work was starting to pay dividends. With Holt becoming visibly bothered as his determined opponent slammed left hooks and right hands into his rib cage, Tim was gradually taking a hold of the fight.
But Kendall would not relinquish his belt easily. Rounds 9 through 11 were close, as Bradley continued to work over Holt's body while Holt occasionally timed Bradley's head movement to land flush, damaging counter punches. Nevertheless, it appeared that Bradley had the edge over his explosive foe with his more steady punch output.
That is, until Holt placed an uppercut on Bradley's chin in the final round that caused Bradley to touch the canvas with his glove. The knock down made it a 10-8 round for Holt and put the verdict of the fight in doubt. But in the end, the judges favored Bradley's consistent work over Holt's sporadic bursts of power.
With the win, Bradley picked up a WBO strap and improved his record to 24-0 with 11 knockouts while Kendall Holt fell to 25-3 with 13 knockouts.
Librado Andrade had a much easier time with Vitali Tsypko on the undercard.
Dominating the action with his controlled aggression, Librado decked Tsypko with a straight right hand in the 2nd. Tsypko bravely fought back in the 3rd, but Andrade used his superior strength to punish him in the 4th stanza.
While Tsypko proved elusive at times, Librado slowed him down by whipping left hooks to his body, leaving him susceptible to a powerful blow that put him down again in the 7th round.
Nevertheless, Tsypko proved to be durable. Severely staggered by another right hand in the final round, he found the heart and resolve to fight back for a late round rally. He dropped a lopsided decision but he has nothing to be ashamed of.
Meanwhile, Andrade continues to show that he's among the division's elite, and we can expect a rematch with Bute later this year. Andrade improved to 28-2 with 21 knockouts with his victory while Vitali Tsypko fell to 22-3 with 12 knockouts.
e-mail Michael Nelson
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Saturday, March 14, 2009
Bute Blasts Out Zuniga; A Look at the Super-Middleweight Picture
By Lee Payton
If there were any lingering effects from the from the 12th round of his last fight, Lucien Bute didn't let them show. He looked like his usual self in putting Fulencio Zuniga away in 4 rounds.
The Bell Centre was rocking for their super middleweight title holder as round one began. Things started out rather slowly, with Bute measuring his man and seeing what he brought to the dance.
Not too much happened over the next two rounds, but it was obvious that the home fighter was in command. Zuniga couldn't find the angle for his best punch, and was clearly the smaller man in the ring. I don't think he landed a single meaningful punch in the fight.
Round 4 was the end of things as Bute decided to come forward. He started to test a left to the body as a counter to the pawing right hands coming his way, and moments later he landed a smashing uppercut to the solar plexus of Zuniga.
The challenger was able to rise at the count of 9, partly because of his fighting heart, and partly because of a slow count issued by the referee, but he had nothing left. Bute went on the attack with flurries that overwhelmed his opponent, and the fight was called off at 2:25.
This was probably more of a televised set-up for a rematch with Andrade, who will be facing Vitali Tsypko in Montreal on April 4th. To Bute's credit, he said he would give the hard-nosed challenger a rematch down the road, so now it is up to the rock jawed Mexican to beat Tsypko.
Just a few thoughts on the super middleweight division...
I think most recognize Mikkel Kessler of Denmark as the top man in the division, and rightly so. He was second best to Calzaghe before the Welshman moved up, and he gave a good show when the two met in 2007.
That said, Bute has to be #2 until someone actually beats him.
I love 168 right now. You can hardly make a bad fight out of any of the top 10 guys around.
Let me throw out some juicy match-ups for you to think about:
Bute vs. Kessler I don't know where this would take place, but it's the Dane's straight right hand vs. the Canadian's athleticism and speed. Kessler isn't at his most comfortable against lefties, but his laser right is about the perfect weapon to deal with them.
Andrade vs. Bika Someone tell me this wouldn't be fight of the year. Andrade pressing and shaking off Bika's wide bombs for 12 rounds. Who's gonna give?
Taylor vs. Froch This one's happening on April 25th at Foxwoods. Taylor is an offensive machine with a boxer's mentality. Froch is the perfect foe to bring out the fighter in Jermain, because he doesn't give his opponents a choice. You have to fight him. I can't wait for this one.
Miranda vs. Lacy Alright so neither guy can get over the hump. Who cares? Throw them in a ring together and it's bombs away!
Green vs. Ward vs. Dirrell I'm ready to see what these guys are really made of. Who's for real?
Pascal vs. Codrington Two hard-punching fighters with athleticism and fire. The winner is back in the picture.
There is a lot of fun to be had at 168. Hopefully these guys can get in there and mix it up.
e-mail Lee Payton
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Thursday, March 12, 2009
A Look Back at Bute vs Andrade
by Lee Payton
Lucien Bute will be returning to the ring tomorrow night for the first time since his controversial win over Librado Andrade back in October. Remember that fight? Of course you do. Nobody will soon forget the massive controversy that erupted after the high drama that took place over the bout's final moments.
I'll get to that fight in a second, but first let's touch briefly on tomorrow night's match-up.
Bute's opponent will be Colombian, Fulgencio Zuniga, who you might remember knocked Kelly Pavlik down with a left hook in the first round of their middleweight bout a few years ago. Zuniga went on to lose via a 9th round TKO, and I think that's about as long as he'll last against Bute. Zuniga's tough, and he'll keep coming, but he's not close to Bute's level.
Now on to the infamous Andrade battle, which had boxing fans in a mighty uproar last year...
Both men got screwed that night. The poor judgment of a few key individuals may have cost Andrade a knockout win and his first title belt, while it left Bute with an undeserved image as something of a front-running house fighter.
Most fans thought referee Marlon Wright had given his fellow Canadian a sneaky edge when he allowed him to clutch and grab so frequently. There were times I found the grappling annoying, but it's part of the game to some extent that it's the same for everyone. Bute realized that staying on the outside meant a less hazardous work environment, so he held on whenever things felt unsafe against a dangerous opponent. The rules were bent a little, but this was no Henry Akinwande impression.
It's a legit gripe. Holding is against the rules. However, I was more disappointed in Andrade's effort while being held. This is a fighter who relies on ruggedness and uppercuts, but he doesn't know how to get room on the inside? Too often he stopped fighting when the two came together. Why? He should have been the boss in there. That would have left little room for Wright to influence the action.
In fact, the official opinions may have been moot if one guy was getting pounded every time he tried to catch his breath.
As it happened, the hometown fighter used his decided edge in quickness to secure perhaps a 10-1 lead with 1 round to go. His southpaw stance created an awkward angle that kept the incoming relatively tame, while he swatted away at a dependable target.
The 60 second rest period between the 11th and 12th would prove to be just as crucial as the previous 33 minutes of fighting. While clearly ahead, but sucking wind, Bute was inexplicably instructed by his corner to go for it. Apparently they felt it was necessary for their fighter to put it all on the line in the last round if he was interested in keeping his title.
Eddie Futch might have offered some different advice.
Interestingly, the same ref who had demonstrated such a liberal attitude toward the stalling tactics throughout, was quick to break the fighters during any stalemate in the final stanza. When Andrade was pummeling the favourite in close with his free hand, Wright handled it in the correct way.
Lost in the excitement of the improbable comeback was Andrade's headbutting that played no small part in helping it along. At least a few times Bute took skull to the face or temple while already woozy. I know Andrade was desperate, but that doesn't sit right with me.
His legs and head burning, Bute wobbled around until a running right slammed him to the canvas with only a few seconds to go. He somehow rose before 10 seconds had elapsed, but it didn't matter because Wright was busy blowing another assignment. At about 7, he turned around to warn Andrade to get all the way back in the corner. Those extra seconds wasted by Wright only served to create more controversy as they left the impression that the hometown fighter had more time to recover. After finishing the mandatory count, the bell rang and the fight was declared over, which it would have been anyway, even if Wright had not warned Andrade.
A few key points of contention...
1. The count was too long.
It was, but I don't think it matters, since Bute was on his feet before 10 seconds had passed.
2. Some say it should have been scored as a KO anyway because he used the ropes to steady himself.
Is that even illegal?
3. Was Bute in any condition to continue?
Absolutely not. But does it matter if he beats the count in that situation? Seems like no one really knows for sure.
Look, I know that it's natural in boxing to get behind the traveling underdog, especially when it looks like there might have been some tampering with the results, but this is a clear case of a referee handling a fight poorly, not of corruption. Marlon Wright did not have a good night, and his poor performance as the third man screwed things up for both sides.
Anyway, even though Librado Andrade didn't get the W, he didn't lose much much, as fans will remember his heroics and claim he was robbed by evil Canadians. That's the kind of sympathy managers love.
On the other hand, Lucien Bute has some fighting to do. While I find most of the disrespect he receives to be rather unreasonable, the fact is many boxing fans now see him as something of a sheltered softy. A paper champ that folds under pressure. Forget the impressive athletic package. Never mind the quick, accurate stabs that had him way ahead against a tough nut. He got up at the end? So what? He's just a promoter's product until further notice.
Tomorrow night, he'll have chance to start proving that sentiment wrong, and hopefully we'll see an Andrade rematch in the near future. Andrade will be fighting Vitali Tsypko in Montreal on April 4. A win by Bute tomorrow night, and Andrade a few weeks from now would set up a rematch quite nicely.
Here's hoping it happens.
e-mail Lee Payton
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Friday, February 6, 2009
46-0. No Ordinary Joe
By Jeff Pryor
Photo © Marty Rosengarten / Ringsidephotos.com
He was out of the ordinary in his unique style, out of the ordinary in his accomplishments and talents, and out of the ordinary in the way he has left the sport; undefeated, a champion and apparently content and ready to move on to a new phase of his life after dedicating the vast majority of his 37 years to the sport.
Joe's tremendous hand speed and conditioning, combined with an intense will to win and a higher gear that few would have been able to match, served him well over the years. Though never heavy handed, his was strictly a numbers game.
While he lacked the punch to immediately put away his foe, many a man withered under his endless barrage of punches; tossed from every imaginable angle. To fight Joe Calzaghe must have been like standing in the ocean and facing down the oncoming tide.
His relationship with his father/trainer Enzo Calzaghe appears to be one of the few such partnerships that never went through extreme acrimony at one time or another. As Enzo stated upon his son's retirement, he was there for every fight, and undoubtedly that guidance added immeasurably to Joe's success as a prize fighter.
As Calzaghe wound down his career, with a late introduction to the American boxing public, many felt his talents had been wasted for much of his time in the sport. As though to make amends he started to face challenges he was unwilling or unable to face when he was younger, much like a hesitant fighter who starts to loosen up in round twelve because he knows the fight is almost over.
For all his late career push to emblazon his place on boxing's historical landscape, the issue with Calzaghe was that in relation to his contemporaries, he had some real catching up to do and ultimately faced an insurmountable problem. The names he was beating, did not hold the same quality they did a handful of years ago. A split decision against a 43 year old Hopkins raised as many questions as it answered and a dominant win over a Roy Jones, who may not even be top ten in his division at this point and had been earlier twice put to sleep, didn't really offer anything other than the name.
In Joe's case, should he have had the willingness to try and surpass the legacies of his touted peers, the names that would have meant something are largely gone now. Antonio Tarver a few years ago would have been a meaningful addition, Hopkins beat him to it. Likewise, Kelly Pavlik would have held some value to Joe as a follow up to Roy, but Hopkins snatched that glory too.
Chad Dawson was available, however the name value was not yet tantalizing enough to warrant the danger of facing the young, resilient and dynamic champion. Likewise Glen Johnson was just slightly too blue collar to bring in the paycheck or esteem Calzaghe felt necessary for the grinding fight it was likely to be.
On one side of the coin it was clear that Joe had gone as far as he had a taste for, and there is nothing wrong with quitting while you're ahead. Still on the flip side, his resume lacks some of the luster of his contemporaries, due to the relative lack of impressive names on his unbeaten ledger.
In addition to well past prime Hopkins and Jones Jr., Calzaghe's two most impressive wins come over Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler. While Kessler may still prove to be more than merely a good champ, it's fair to say that Lacy's legacy is pretty well set; that of an over-hyped one dimensional fighter who never fulfilled his promise. In addition, his other most notable win was against Chris Eubank who was at the tail end of his thirteen year career, when he met up with the rising Welshman.
For all of the misleading Hall of Fame gloss that names like Hopkins or Jones Jr. added to his record, Joe's greatest moment in the ring likely came midway through his 168 lb. unification bout with Kessler. When the going got tough and it appeared that Joe had met his match and perhaps more, he kicked his performance level and output into a higher gear he had never had the need to use before. Calzaghe thrust his will onto Kessler and ripped the victory away with sheer determination and continual punching.
Ultimately Joe's legacy is defined far more by his 21 WBO championship defenses, than by the names associated with his unbeaten record. When you can rise to the occasion that many times it's something very special indeed, but the fact that Kessler had positioned himself to be seen as Calzaghe's equal in 5 fights as WBA champ, compared to Joe's 21 WBO championship fights is pretty telling. Lacy's two year championship run was as highly regarded as Joe's ten year run as well. It is a shadow cast over Calzaghe's accomplishments that after ten years of being a champion in one division, he was perceived to have done so little, and that he still had to prove his value so much, that he was the underdog against a two year champ with 21 fights.
Think about that... Joe had almost as many Championship fights as Lacy had fights, period. And yet he was pegged to lose, due to the low esteem that his run as champion was held in.
The other thing Joe has going against him in how he is and will be perceived are the intangibles. The comfort zone of not traveling, not having to catch a flight and stay somewhere strange gives the perception that he took an easier route (or in this case no route at all). In addition, knowing that more than likely the local referee and judges will have your back if things get a little close, is a keen advantage; it may not be something a fighter has in the front of their mind, but having that safety net can affect the way one fights and ultimately benefit the fighter even if it's only a mental edge, which does not show up in an overt way. Joe was unwilling to leave home for all but 4 of 46 fights.
All this nitpicking aside, and admittedly it is such, as his career surpasses that of all but the very cream of the boxing crop; Joe is a great fighter. He deserves mention with many of the other great fighters of this era. Is he among the very best? The top 2 or 3 guys? No. Talent wise he may have been, but he didn't really give himself the opportunity to prove it. He is in that vast pool of greats just below.
The fact that he will likely be in terrific health, in comparison to other boxers who did not know their own limits or aspirations, is perhaps his greatest victory. What his admirers always knew, and what even his nay-sayers must admit too, is that Joe was a unique talent; no ordinary Joe.
e-mail Jeff Pryor
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