Knockout Nation: Klitschko Victorious! Pavlik-Williams? Augustus Partners with EA Sports! Big George Tribute

  Klitschko Stops Thompson in the 11th   Wladimir Klitschko continued his dominance of the heavyweight division with an 11th round knockout over a game but overmatched Tony Thompson this past Saturday (July 12).   Throughout the first six rounds, Thompson was able to find success whenever he pressured a still gun-shy prone Klitschko. With […]

 

Klitschko Stops Thompson in the 11th

 

Wladimir Klitschko continued his dominance of the

heavyweight division with an 11th round knockout over a game but

overmatched Tony Thompson this past Saturday (July 12).

 

Throughout the first six rounds, Thompson was able

to find success whenever he pressured a still gun-shy prone Klitschko. With a

240 pound plus frame, the challenger was able to muscle to the inside and land

sporadic hard lefts to the body, followed by clubbing rights to the head.

 

Still, the more skillful Klitschko was able to

score quick knockdown off the right hand in the second round.

 

Klitschko remained consistent with his powerful

right cross, and found a home for the punch repeatedly from the seventh round

on.

 

By the championship rounds, a worn down Thompson

was caught with another straight right behind a jab which sent him to the

canvas. With his energy spent and a cut over the right eye, Thompson slowly

rose by the count of nine only to see referee Joe Cortez call a halt to the

bout.

 

While the fight wasn’t a barnburner, it was a

significant improvement over Klitschko’s sloppy, pedestrian performance against

Sultan Ibragimov five months ago. The champion also pads his resume with his

sixth win over a top 10 ranked heavyweight.

 

Unfortunately, the barren wasteland that is the

heavyweight division does not have many challengers left for Klitschko. Samuel

Peter is still standing, but Dr. Steel Hammer already holds a win over the Nigerian

from their 2005 encounter. Plus that rematch has lost some luster after Peter

was nearly kayoed by Jameel McCline.

 

Ironically, the next big fight for Klitschko may

come from the cocky cruiserweight champ David Haye, who’s already on record as

stating the Klitschko-Thompson bout was lackluster.

 

Check out the two champs facing off. As much as I

like Haye, I see visions of Apollo Creed vs. Ivan Drago if this comes off.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnOANul82Tw

 

Pavlik-Williams a Strong Possibility

 

Maxboxing.com broke the story that middleweight

champion Kelly Pavlik is nearly signed to face two time WBO welterweight champ

Paul Williams on September 23 in Atlantic

City.

 

“I’m dealing with [Dan] Goossen, it’s a deal. But [it’s] not sure,” Arum told maxboxing.com. “You never know if it’s a deal. I

think there is a deal. But if my life depended on it, I wouldn’t swear to it.

With Goossen, you’re never quite sure.”

 

At first glance it seems peculiar that Arum would

match his fighter with a champion two weight classes below. But since Arthur

Abraham is tied up with a mandatory defense, it doesn’t seem as bad since

Williams is coming off an impressive, high profile destruction of Carlos

Quintana last month.

 

Still, Pavlik is too strong a puncher for Williams

and would likely brutally stop him. We should hope that their backup choice,

Allan Green, gets the call for what would be a more competitive bout with Pavlik

still the favorite.

 

Emanuel Augustus Signs On for Fight Night Round

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Cult favorite and ESPN Friday Night Fights legend

Emanuel Augustus has announced a deal to feature his likeness in the 2009

edition of EA Sport’s Fight Night.

 

In the twilight of his career, the deal marks a

huge exposure opportunity for Augustus, who has had to deal with many

controversial and heartbreaking decision losses in his career.

 

“To all my doubters in the pro boxing industry now

that I am working with EA Sports I have definitely made it to the big time,”

Augustus released in a statement. “I hope my actions inside the ring and

outside the ring will turn all my doubters into Emanuel Augustus believers. I

want to thank all my fans for their continued support and I want to show

special appreciation to ‘Irish’ Micky Ward. We will forever be linked together

by our historic fight in 2001. Everyday Micky Ward continues to be a great

inspiration to me as I continue to move forward in my career.”

 

In his fourteen year career, Augustus has become a

fan favorite due to his bizarre “drunken master” style offense and fearlessness

to take on any fighter even on short notice.

 

His most famous bouts are his spirited efforts in

losing performances to Floyd Mayweather (2000) by TKO and Micky Ward (2001) by

decision.

 

Throwback Fighter of the Week: “Big” George

Foreman

 

The affable, product hawking George Foreman that

we see today is a far cry from the brutish, Sonny Liston molded Foreman of the ‘70s

that terrorized the heavyweight division.

 

After mowing down mostly easy competition, Foreman

earned in his first title shot against undefeated Muhammad Ali conqueror Joe

Frazier in 1973. All it took was two rounds for Foreman to drop Joe six times

in route to a merciful stoppage.

 

The following year he demolished Ken Norton in two

rounds before running into well prepared and motivated Ali. In one of the most

famous bouts in history, Ali outsmarted his younger and stronger foe with the

Rope-a-dope to score an upset 8th round stoppage. Foreman was never the same mentally after that

bout, taking two years off to recover.

 

He returned to barely survive a classic shootout

with Ron Lyle before knocking out Joe Frazier again in a return bout. After

being upset by slickster Jimmy Young he retired in 1977.

 

Returning 10 years later, Foreman was amazingly

able to compete with the top fighters due to his immense power and physical

strength. He eventually regained the title in 1994 against Michael Moorer

before retiring for good in 1997.

 

Foreman is considered by most to be one of the

powerful, physically and punch-wise, fighters in heavyweight history. His final

record stands at 76-5, 68 KOs.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL7KnkWWXbQ

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0lRwBb9lbA