Arena Boxing in Voelklingen, Germany. Kretschmann Exposed, Hide Victorious.

In a massive upset last night in Voelklingen, Germany previously unbeaten German heavyweight champion Steffen Kretschmann (13 / 1 / 12 Ko's) was knocked out in the very first round by the extremely dangerous Russian veteran Denis Bakhtov (30 / 5 / 19 Ko's.) Kretschmann started very aggressively and tried furiously to get Bakhtov out of there early, but while weathering the assault Denis threw some serious desperate leather of his own, and clipped the unbeaten prospect high on the temple in his own corner staggering Steffen. The referee at first thought the 6 ft 5 Kretschmann had slipped on an advertising logo on the canvas and waved the action on but seconds later another heavy assault collapsed Kretschmann who rose at 7 but was all at sea. Steffen was in no way fit to continue and was devastated when the referee called the fight off with mere seconds left in the round. Denis has done this kind of upset stunt before when he visited the Uk to box Matt Ellis several years ago and handed the Briton one of his rare losses at the time in what was a rematch of which Ellis easily dominated their first meeting. Bakhtov is ranked however by the WBA at number 14. Kretschmann looked ill prepared and over hyped and is in my humble opinion in dire need of far more exposure to serious competition if he is in any way wanting to make a future in the division. He crumbled at the first sign of competitive return fire. Bakhtov retained his PABA heavyweight title in the process.

On the undercard the saga of former WBO heavyweight champion Herbie Hides assault on the cruiserweights continued as he completely manhandled Gabor Halasz (26 / 13 / 10 Ko's) for 3 horribly savage rounds where the Hungarian club fighter was mauled, cut, dropped numerous times before eventually being completely flattened by a lethal two punch combination by Hide (a left hook and a stiff right hand) thrown with menacing intentions by the number 2 (WBO & WBC 48 / 4 / 43 Ko's) ended the proceedings about a round later than i would have allowed this fight to have absurdly continue. Hide is impressive but needs a tough championship fight fast as this monthly beating of outclassed clubfighters is eroding his obvious skills. Hide is resorting to brutal bullying and hardly uses any of his talents in every outing, i have no question that he could provide a stern test for anyone including the beltholders at Cruiserweight at the minute. Herbie looks bored and without stimulus and it would be in the interest of all concerned if some kind of motivational match be made to bring Hide's potential out against someone of note. Herbie is getting older by the day and looks like a man almost tapping his fingers on a table waiting for his chance to shine at top level once again.

Safety First Klitschko stops Chagaev's challenge in 10.

On Saturday evening a 61.000 expectant crowd at Vetlins arena Germany saw IBO , WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko demoralise WBA Champion in recess Ruslan Chagaev before stopping him on his stool after 9 frustratingly hard rounds for the Challenger. Ruslan had never been dropped or beaten previous to this but was both in what emerged as mission impossible for the shorter man. Wlad stamped his authority from the off with a stabbing jab which Chagaev found an uphill struggle to cope with, having to adjust and take risks to get close to the 3 belt Champion Ruslan was caught square in round 2 and dropped with a short right hand counter. It was very evident by round 5 that Ruslan was on a losing effort and his increasingly weathered features showed the tyre marks of the heavygoods he was shipping as he constantly sought a way under, over and around the Klitschko jab. At the end of 9 rounds of absorbing too many thunderous, accurate head shots, Chagaev was saved by trainer Michael Timm who decided to rescue his brave charge. Chagaev took far more punches than expected and showed a lot more heart than any of Wladimirs last handful of opponents. Ruslan offered a very gallant challenge until it became evident that it was mechanically unlikely to be a success for as long as Chagaev tried to figure the Stern Champion's style out. Chagaev looked extremely upset with himself but in no way should be ashamed by his tremendous effort to arrest the trio of belts that Wladimir now seems to have claimed as his own long term property. I have to add though , it was a convincing but uninspiring way to beat a great challenger, as he never truly set the world alight as far as excitement goes. Wladimir boxed a workmanlike punch perfect fight, but is so far in a class of his own these days that he looks almost effortless in defending his titles each time he fights. He boxed conservatively behind his greatest asset (his jab) and on the odd occasion his brave challenger made any headway, peppered his work with stiff right hands and left hooks. It looks now as if its down to hard negotiations to make a fight with outcast challenger David Haye become a reality as the chips are now stacked heavily in Wladimirs favour. Wlad feels that it up to David to prove he is worthy of boxing for the title after so many disappointing twists and turns had constantly aborted the supposed fight. Wlad has made it very clear to Haye that his approach was probably not the best route towards convincing team Klitschko that he is worth the time of day. David now faces a possible big freeze as he may now be made to play the waiting game as Klitschko looks like he may take the more patient and proven contenders that have stood in line in a far more proffessional manner.

Graphically scenic t-shirts may have burned some extremely valuable bridges for David in hindsight, but you can never say never.. We keep a keen eye on negotiations in the near future.

Klitschko and Chagaev weigh in for Saturdays Championship bout.

The official weigh-in for Wladimir Klitschko´s defense of his IBF/IBO/WBO heavyweight titles against WBA champion in recess Ruslan Chagaev took place on Friday at Karstadt Sports, the largest Sporting goods centre in Dortmund. The Weigh in as always was open to the public as was the final workout on Wednesday at the Mercedes Center in Essen. Popular ring announcer Michael Buffer called the contestants to the scale in front of approx 2000 excited spectators. The weights were announced as follows: Chagaev´s weight was 102 Kilos (225 Pounds). Klitschko was weighing in at 109 Kilos (240 Pounds). Both fighters looked focussed and determined in front of a highly anticipant enthusiastic audience.

The public interest in this fight is massive, both Chagaev and Klitschko are in the zone and there seems to be no hostility or bluff between the two. Klitschko is the betting favorite but i do know it is not a one way street. This event is to be broadcast live Via sattelite on Sky and Espn Classic in the US.

Edwin Valero may meet Casamayor in the summertime in Las Vegas if Nevada Commissioner Keith Kiser is satisfied with Valero's medical status.

Las Vegas may play host to a late summer mega fight between Joel Casamayor and Unbeaten Venezuelan knockout artist Edwin Valero 25/0 (25 Ko's) if Nevada Commissioner Keith Kiser is convinced that Valero is considered medically sound to box. Casamayor 36/4/1 (22 Ko's) has held the NABF, WBA and IBA Super featherweight title along with the WBC lightweight title that Valero currently holds. The Cuban Casamayor has faced almost every major title holder in his divisions including three magical fights with Diego Corrales, two of which he was victorious. Joel first picked up a world Championship in 2000 with a 5th round TKO over tough Jong Kwon Baek. Valero won his WBC belt in Texas earlier this year with a 2 round stoppage of Antonio Pitalua. Interested hosts include MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay resorts. If the green light is given to Edwin expect ticket sales to soar.. I will keep you posted on here asap.

Wladimir Klitschko v Ruslan Chagaev, Will the WBA Champion prove to be a tougher challenge than David Haye?

This coming weekend should have brought us the telling truth as to who is bluffing who in the Haye / Klitschko grudge war, but due to unforeseen circumstances David had to withdraw from the picture due to a severe back injury, bringing rugged WBA Champion Ruslan Chagaev into the picture in many peoples eyes providing us with a real heavyweight battle of credible note. This is now not just a heavyweight fight, its a Unification match that will allow a more clearer view come Sunday morning as to who the true heavyweight daddy is. If Klitschko overcomes Chagaev, It will leave us with W & V Klitschko as WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO holder proper and leave us feeling maybe a little shortchanged that we may never see all of the Straps in one basket. (The Brothers always maintained that they would never meet in the ring as pro's) so it may be a giant leap in the Klitschko Household, it may just be an alphabetic disaster to die hard purists who want to see the emergence of a dominant force at Heavyweight. Ruslan Chagaev is the dark horse, he was one of the last men to beat legendary Cuban Felix Savon Fabre as an amateur, and stands the only proven man to beat former WBA Champion Nikolay Valuev, to earn his right to the title he still owns today. Confidence is something both men have in abundance, but entertainment value is an asset both men on occasion fail to provide. Marvelous conditioning can be admired, but boxing fans often voice their opinions with their feet. Haye v Klitschko may have not been as bona fide a Championship fight as Chagaev v WK, but while it would have lasted it may have been a barn burner that may have injected some propane into the heavyweight picture as of late. No one has a genuine obligation to meet Haye in the immediate future and his misfortune may have cost him in time and money forcing him to wait on the sidelines for another door to open, In the meantime, Ruslan can thank his lucky stars that the biggest fight of his life fell onto his lap only a week after his own world fell apart (a doctors exam ruled him out of a rematch with Valuev on the eve of the event) Only leaving me to conclude, one mans agony may prove to be another mans ecstasy .. This weekend I honestly hope we can get a clearer view through the mire... I will keep all informed..

The Orleans, Oliver McCall returns, Elijah McCall arrives.

21 year old Heavyweight prospect Elijah McCall

This Month I took the time to look closely at a Heavyweight fighter that I have known for quite some time (15 years in fact) and the emergence of his 21 year old son who is himself cutting his teeth in the hard business his father made his name in. On a Crown Boxing event at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas Nv, 44 year old former World heavyweight Champion Oliver McCall made a succesful return to the ring on the same show as his promising son Elijah McCall. Elijah showed interest from a young age that he wanted to follow in his dads footsteps and has so far been improving every time he steps foot inside the ring. Oliver is one of the rare individuals who has been able to fend off father time and stay active and succesful at the highest level far longer than any of those from his true bygone era. Oliver, originally from Chicago Illinois tough streets has fought the best of his era for more than 2 decades now, and back in 1994 when Opportunity knocked at his door he grabbed it by the throat by Ko'ing the dominant WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis in the champions home town, London England to become an unlikely new Champion against all odds. McCall no stranger to being the underdog defended his title against Larry Holmes before losing his title a year later in the same country he won it, London England. At that time his 7 year old son must have been inspired by what his father achieved and made a vow to himself one day to journey down the same route his father did. Enter Elijah McCall, all 222lbs of him , a solid young man with focus in his eyes. I spent a few weeks in the gym with both father and son in thier preperation for thier respective fights on the Orleans show last month. Oliver was very vocal at the pre fight press conference talking mostly about how glad he was to be back on a head line show in Las Vegas, he described his appearing alongside his son Elijah on the same card as historic, he was cordial towards his opponent (John Hopoate) but warned that he was not a part time fighter, he said that no matter how much he himself liked passionately to play basketball , it was just something he did for recreation, he made it clear that Hopoate was a class Rugby player because it was what he was trained to do well, by nature, Oliver stressed that he may enjoy flirting with boxing but Rugby was his natural game, just like Oliver enjoyed B-ball, Boxing was what he was expert at.. This is what i do , and i am damn good at it... Making it clear that the match was very much a natural v a part time fighter... On fight night it became evident how much Olivers prediction was correct, he dropped the Australian in round 2 before scoring a TKO in the same round.. Prior to the main event his very promising son Elijah 222lbs scored a classy 1 round stoppage over a solid looking but inept Chad Davis with 2 great body attacks early in the opener. Elijah and Oliver are both handled by Elijah Thomas, Frank McCall (Olivers brother) and business manager , and trained by Rick Fisler a former fighter and friend of McCall who also resides in Ft Lauderdale Florida. Both Eli and Oliver should appear soon on a Crown Boxing Event , promoted by Frank Luca ..