Pavlik moves ahead in his comeback and Donaire wins a big one!

By Tom Donelson (Member Boxing Writers Association)

Kelly Pavlik continued on his comeback trail as he faced Queens’ fighter Will Rosinsky. Pavlik stayed calm in the opening round as Rosinsky looked like the energy bunny while he constantly moved and threw punches in punches but they had little effect on Pavlik.

The second round was different as Pavlik started to pound the body and in the middle of the round, he nailed Rosinsky with a quick short right hand that sent Rosinsky down and took control of the round. At the beginning of the third round, Rosinsky attacked with multiple combinations but after the first minute of the round, he looked gas and Pavlik continued to pressure Rosinsky. While Pavlik did most of the punching in the fourth, Rosinsky movement allowed him to avoid some of the more powerful punches. Pavlik went back to his corner with cut over his left eye due to a punch.

In the fifth round, Rosinsky managed to land some hardhitting rights on that Pavlik cut eye for some of the best shots of the round but Pavlik landed the harder shots to the body and head but each round was competitive even though the HBO team gave a slight advantage to Pavlik. Max Kellerman added that a case could have made that it was nearly an even match after six.

Starting in the seventh round and thru the ninth round, Kelly Pavlik dominated those rounds with his body shots and occasional right to the head but Rosinsky had his moments, unleashing combinations that forced Pavlik to stop for brief moments and play defenses.

Pavlik continued to pursue Rosinsky, who gave a good account of his self as he threw combinations but Pavlik body shots and pressure proved to be decisive as he won unanimous decision. Rosinsky is not an elite boxer but a game fighter who showed he was competitive with a former world champion. As for Pavlik, he continues his quest for a title but the question, will he be able to compete with the elites of boxing deepest division. Pavlik looked vulnerable to Rosinsky movement and right hands.

Nonito Donaire put his version of the super bantamweight against Jeffrey Mathebula, who was a 5’11” tall fighter. This was a fight between a tall boxer against a smaller, slick boxer who needed to use all his skills to gain inside a fighter 5 inches taller. In the first round, Mathebula jab did very little to stop Donarie as Donaire managed to land some solid punches against the taller Mathebula.

Through the first two rounds, Mathebula threw twice as many punches and Donaire connected on higher percentages of punches so a pattern was developing early as Mathebula potshot from the afar whereas Donaire managed to land some shots on the inside.

In the third round, Donaire threw his left hook with abandon but it was leaving him open for Mathebula jab. In the fourth round, Donaire found a place for his power shots not just to the head but to the body as he nailed Mathebula consistently. Mathebula jab managed to reddened Donaire’s face but with seconds left in the round, Donaire left hook sent Mathebula to the canvas and only the bell saved Mathebula as he got up as the round ended.

In the fifth round saw Mathebula connect with some right hands as Donaire moved straight in but in the final minute, Donaire landed the heavier punches or as HBO Kellerman noted, heavier arsenal. For the first two minutes of the sixth round Mathebula managed to connects on several right hands and while he got nailed with some power shots from Donaire, this was his best round over the first six rounds. Mathebula reputation was that of a fighter who got stronger as the fight goes on and now it was time for Mathebula to make that comeback.

In a competitive seven round, Donaire started to jab to get through the taller Mathebula and managed to neutralize some of Mathebula’s jabs and forced Mathebula to retreat. In the eighth and ninth round, Mattebula showed discipline whereas Donaire failed to use his jab to set up power shots and this allowed Mattebula to stay in the fight and possibly steal rounds.

With two rounds left, Mattebula jab started to neutralize Donaire’s power shot and according to Harold Lederman’s card, it became close fight with Mattebula within striking range. Donaire used his jab in the eleventh round and a right hand to Mattebula’s nose and for the next minute and half; Mattebula didn’t throw a punch as he looked like something was broken with that right hand. (Mattebula suffered a cracked tooth.)

Donaire went on a search and destroy for the first half of the round but Mattebula managed to land some solid rights but Donaire stunned Mattebula with a left that forced Mattebula to retreat. Donaire shot one punch after another as Mattebula retreated, trying to survive.

Donaire won a unanimous decision and while the judge had the fight in Donaire’s favor by wide margin; the fight was closer even though the judges had the right winner. Donaire showed himself to be a power puncher in the 122 pounds but he failed to use his jab effectively to set up his punches, but his power punches won the fight even though he was outpunch based on compubox.

Ward and Dawson, could it be a great one!

This September, two of the best American fighters will go toe to toe. Andre Ward and Chad Dawson will face one another in a battle of two American at the top of their game and at their peak. Dawson’s prominence began when he defeated Tomaz Adamek for the light heavyweight championship. From there, he finished off the senior circuit defeating Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver twice before losing to Jean Pascal. His two recent bouts with Hopkins were hardly masterpiece but in the end, he defeated another Hall of Fame fighter in one of boxing ugliest fight. Before one dismisses these victories, Hopkins defeated Pascal before his two matches with Dawson; Johnson managed to give Carl Froch a tough time in the recently completed Super Six tournament and Tarver managed to win a Cruiserweight title. As for Adamek, he won a Cruiserweight title before making the move to the Heavyweight division and becoming a title contender among the big boys. What you can see is that even at their advance age, Hopkins, Johnson and Tarver were still close to the elite of their division and Adamek only loss before traveling into the Heavyweight division was to Dawson.

Ward journey began as a regular on SHOBOX Next generation where Showtime featured rising stars. Going into the Super Six both Ward and Andre Dirrell were the prospects with much to prove and the best American hope for the tournament was Jermain Taylor. Taylor lasted one fight in the Super Six as he suffered a fierce beating at the hands of Arthur Abraham. The two prospects took their step forward even though Dirrell participation in the tournament was derailed by injuries after a close loss to Froch and a victory over Abraham. Ward went from prospect to the best Super Middleweight in boxing deepest division as he upset Mikkel Kessler, pounded Allen Green and Abraham before winning the official Super Six tournament with a decisive victory over Froch. Froch later went on to knock out he previously undefeated Lucian Bute.

Dawson is the best light heavyweight in the world and his advantages lies in his quick rapier punches. Dawson is not one punch knockout artist but he does have power. In his fight against Pascal, he nearly had Pascal out on his feet in the eleventh but the fight was stopped due to an accidental head butt and Dawson lost on points. Pascal unorthodox style gave Dawson trouble but Pascal’s style has given other fighters difficulty. It took Hopkins four rounds in their first fight before he figured out Pascal and he nearly was stopped in the early rounds before taking control of the fight. Hopkins rough style and defense first before countering proved problematic for Dawson but Dawson found a way to win. Against Ward, he is fighting a young fast fighter who is one of the best boxer-puncher in boxing. Dawson will not be fighting an unorthodox fighter so Ward style will allow Dawson opportunities to use his own skills.

As for Ward, he is similar to Dawson in that he is not one punch knockout artist but his punches have popped. What separate Ward from other fighters is that he can fight inside and outside. He can box but he can fight effectively within another fighter wheelhouse. He is not easy to hit and even on the inside, he is capable of avoiding punches. The one thing that often is overlooked over Ward is his ability to adapt in the ring. Against Froch, he alternated fighting outside and boxing before going inside and outpunching the taller Froch. Froch never could get set against Ward and Ward successfully showed diversity in attack. The most interesting aspect of the fight is that Dawson is moving down to the Super Middleweight division. Will the seven less pounds heighten Dawson’s power? What is more impressive is that two fighters are choosing to fight each other in a potentially great fight. This is a fight that should excite boxing fans for they could be witnessing a historical rivalry with each fighters having the strengths for the other fighter to neutralize This is a fight that both will have use their boxing savvy in the ring and not just their boxing talent.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *