A look forward and a look backwards

So with this weekend being the biggest test of Nathan Cleverly's career as well as being the biggest test for Khetag Kozaev against the tough Makhankov (fight previewed in more detail here) could be one to keep a look out for in regards of the result. However some thing that boxing fans often forget is the true warriors of yesteryear, not those of the 1960's and 70's, the likes of Frazier, Foreman and of course Ali who will never be forgotten but those from back in the days of the prewar warriors. Fighters like Sullivan, Corbett, Fitzsimmons and Jeffries have established places in history, though the same can't be said about the forgotten sailor, Tom Sharkey the teak tough  Irish warrior.

As a result of this piece I've decided to take a look at the greatest Irish "boxers" of all time in an article for both Helium and associated content. Surprisingly the list of names I've been thinking (which I have included Sharkey and Peter Maher for) is actually longer than I personally expected (despite the article only including 5 in the final list). Having done similar lists for "English born" and "Scottish born" fighter this may become a weekly or a monthly thing looking at the top fighters from not only the specific eras but also nations and even areas in the future. An interesting subject despite what many may feel, it seems certain countries do have peculiar penchant for producing more than their fair share of top class talent. Puerto Rico for example have an alarming amount of top fighters, ditto for the Philippines (especially at the moment), whilst Russia and China have been sleeping giants in the sport. Although it's true the East are an arising force in boxing you'd expect with their size that they would have already started the charge and base it from Russia not through Germany.

The heavyweight kings of the 1890's

For those that did the first quiz in the heavyweight series, they may be interested in this article on the top heavyweight fighters of the 1890's, according to Helium.com this is actually a "history" article and not a sports article but whatever. For those who are fans of learning the old stuff in boxing, Tom Sharkey may well be one of the most forgotten fighters in the history of the sport and so expect an article on him when www.ringnews24.com is up and running. For those who would rather have a quiz the second part of my Heavyweight Boxing Quiz is now on Hubpages as is the 3rd and 4th (Joe Louis and the Post Louis era) parts which will go up over the next few days.

So what about this coming weekend, say what you want but it's the biggest fight in Nathan Cleverly's short career, one that promises to be one of the greatest in British history, as he takes on the Italian veteran Antonio Brancalion on Saturday. A fight that I may be able to preview some time before Saturday. Also on the same card are a bunch of the hottest British prospects in Kevin Mitchell, James DeGale, Frankie Gavin and Derek Chisora as well as the Walsh brothers. One I'm taking a personal interest in is the fight with the young KO machine Khetag Kozaev who's 8-0 (8KO's) record has come against mainly poor fighters but he's just 19. His opponent is the relatively tough Konstantin Makhankov who has been stopped once in 34 fights, that was when Makhankov's corner threw in the towel against Victor Oganov. A 9th straight stoppage for Kozaev will quickly see him getting a huge win for a man so young.

In America, Las Vegas to be precise there is an enthralling card that features several big names and a few intriguing contests:
Nonito Donaire v Gerson Guerrero (Prediction-a barn burner with Donaire winning late in an enthralling contests)
Fernando Montiel v Ciso Morale (Prediction- Montiel every day and twice on Sunday's, not sure what the 22 year old "Kid Terrible" has done to deserve this fight)
Gerry Penalosa v Eric Morel (Prediction- I think Penalosa will win this but it will be a classic fight that will almost certainly go under the radar. Definitely one of Penalosa's final fights of a brilliant career)
Bernabe Concepcion v Mario Santiago (Prediction- One I'm not sure on but it's a great fight between 2 young stars in the making)
Also on that card is Matt Korobov.

Boxing is dead? Hardly.

This blog may not see an immediate update after the fights due to the wonderful woman in my life being one whom isn't a big fight girl, though it will be updated sometime afterwards. Hopefully with a preview of both the Kozaev and the Cleverly fights.

In The Corner with the Sad Boy

With boxing in it's current guise, that of a sport which seems to have not yet managed to replace the out going fighters, one of the smartest things that American TV networks seemed to have started doing is showing more and more none American fights. Although they've always shown the top world wide fighters, those like Manny Pacquaio and Marco Antonio Barrera they've often been brought along on other fighters backs. Though this year has seen Juan Manuel Lopez, Yuriorkis Gamboa both furthering their careers, though more tellingly have been the recent world title fights that haven't been on PPV. The fight between Beibut Shumenov and Gabriel Campillo was the first and that was recently followed by Edwin Valero's recent fight against Antonio DeMarco...are we seeing a move by the networks? (full article on the subject is here).

Whats recently been in my head is a series of quizzes about boxing, the first of which is currently on hubpages and based on the very early heavyweight history. Feel free to try it out here, with a new one coming probably tomorrow on the next era of the division if the heavyweight ones are a success  it's likely they'll be followed up by another weight division.

Getting ready to get into the ring

Hey there, I'm Scott (or iamasadlittleboy to many) and this is a blog just for boxing fans, whether your a fan of the oldies like Dempsey, Sullivan, Tunney, Corbett or a new age fan sitting in awe at the likes of Pacquiao, Mayweather, Gamboa. A fan of the amateur game or the professionals, a cynic of the multi-title era we live in or someone who just wants to read something on the noble art you've found the right place. Having recently been asked to write a regular column for a new website that launches sometime soon I've decided to get a jump on them (sorry guys) and actually start the column a week or two early on here, or rather start my writing here.

For those who know me, they'll be aware I write for a variety of other sites, this opening entry is just me introducing myself to those who don't know me, rather than an actual column entry. I've been writing for the past year or so semi-professionally and been paid decent but not great money for a variety of things, including my favourite sport, boxing. It's recently become apparent that there is a really good set of independent boxing writers on the net, from Rich Thomas, Jake Emmen, Loren Robinson and Natasa Shepherd so if you are a boxing fan it could be worth googling their names as well as reading these columns and articles. Unlike them, I'm living behind a pseudonym, lucky me huh?

So boxing fans, hopefully you'll come back when the columns start later this week, in the mean time, here's an article for you just so you can see the sort of stuff I write.