You can add another former Champions name’s to the list of people who probably won’t be visiting
The European invasion of American boxing seems to be in full effect. Both Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe were able to lure title fights to their native country and make the best of their opportunities. Hatton was able to punish Kosta Tszyu for 10 rounds, before the light welterweight champ was unable to answer the bell for the 11th round. And last week, Calzaghe beat Lacy in what was a one sided beating, sending Lacy to his first professional loss. Chris Byrd hopes to break the spell when he goes to
You can add another former Champions name’s to the list of people who probably won’t be visiting
The European invasion of American boxing seems to be in full effect. Both Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe were able to lure title fights to their native country and make the best of their opportunities. Hatton was able to punish Kosta Tszyu for 10 rounds, before the light welterweight champ was unable to answer the bell for the 11th round. And last week, Calzaghe beat Lacy in what was a one sided beating, sending Lacy to his first professional loss. Chris Byrd hopes to break the spell when he goes to
The European fighters who have been successful against world class fighters seem to follow the same style; press forward and press hard. Both Hatton and Calzaghe fight with energy that gains steam as the fight continues. Hatton has been successful in smothering his opponents, punishing there body while not allowing them to set any space where they could unleash there punches. The same goes with Calzaghe, who made the energizer bunny look like a slow tortoise last week.
Regardless of geographic location, this style of fighting has proven very successful. Manny Pacquiao’s explosive bursts of energy led to a very impressive TKO victory over Eric Morales. And Floyd Mayweather Jr., widely considered the pound for pound best fighter in the world, looks just as fresh in the 12th round as he does in the 1st round. It has been rumored that when in training, Mayweather spars 12 min rounds, with this sparing partners switching out every few minutes.
Other bright Europeans Stars to keep an eye on:
German Fighter, Felix Strum (24-1-0, 11 KO’s), who lost a very controversial fight to Oscar De La Hoya. For fight fans who remember this fight, Oscar was seen after the fight relieved and shaking his head at his lackluster performance.
Junior “The Hitter” Whitter (33-1-2, 19 KO’s). Another British born fighter in the 140lb weight class.. He’s a very heavy hitter whose only loss came in 2000 against Zab
The “Beast from the East”, Russian Giant Nikolay Valuev (43-0-0, 31 KO’s). Standing well over 7 ft and weighting over 300 lbs, Valuev surprised the boxing world with a majority decision win against WBA Champ John Ruiz in December of 2005. He also has notable wins against heavyweights Larry Donald and Clifford Etienne. His size alone makes him a force to be recognized.
