Best of 2007

FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

KellyPavlik, Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather, Joe Calzaghe

Kelly Pavlik (32-0, 29 KO’s)

Pavlik can and should be the new face of boxing in 2008.

He had a remarkable year, with three dramatic victories over Jose Luis Zertuche, Edison Miranda and Jermain Taylor. Pavlik has not only the talent, and the determination to win, but also that indefinable thing that can be called heart.

His three fights this year were all spectacular. His punishment of Jose Luis Zertuche was cringe inducing, ending in the 8^th with the kind of knockout where you hope no one ends up in the hospital. Pavlik hit Zertuche with a right hand and he was asleep before he hit the ground. Edison Miranda’s fight with Pavlik was a surprise to many given the Colombian’s tough rep, but Pavlik was so dominant that Miranda’s corner was ready to stop the fight before referee Steve Smoger stepped in midway through the 7^th.

And the jewel in the crown: his 7^th round technical knockout of HBO fave Jermain Taylor. Pavlik made an amazing comeback after a near disaster in round 2. You could almost see him thinking in his corner between the 2^nd and 3^rd rounds, “This is NOT what I came here for”. He went home with the WBC middleweight title belt, although his trainer Jack Loew forgot his paycheck in the hotel room in Atlantic City. Another story that personifies the humble Pavlik.

Pavlik is now set for a March rematch with Taylor and then can get on to bigger and better things. Pavlik has the potential to bring fans back to the sport in 2008; the same fans who would rather support a decent, down to earth fighter like Pavlik, than a trash talking, money throwing narcissist like Floyd Mayweather.

CANADA’S FAVORITE SOUTHPAW – CANADIAN FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

Lucian Bute – 21-0, 17KO’s

You could say that Lucian Bute is in the sexiest division in boxing, sharing the top 10 lists with the likes of Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler. This is part of the reason that Bute came out on top as the Canadian Fighter of the Year, but more importantly, Bute continued his ascendancy in the ranks in other ways, building up a huge fan base and demonstrating time after time his remarkable charisma, not to mention his unmistakable talent.

Bute started his road to the IBF title with a UD win over Sergey Tatevosyan in January, continued on to his mandatory in June against wily Sakio Bika, (another UD win) then finished off the year in triumph, with his brutal 11^th round KO of beltholder Alejandro Berrio. All in Montreal. All in front of 13,000 or so adoring fans. As Joe Tessitore put it “There is a little something extra special in the love affair between the Montreal fans and Lucian Bute” There was also something special in the emotion that Bute showed after winning the title, thanking the audience at the Bell Centre in French and Romanian, hugging his longtime trainer Stephan Larouche, and looking to all the world like a guy whose dream had just come true.

Bute’s promoter InterBox has taken a methodical approach to building their champions, which could explain why they have been so successful in 2007. Look for their next star to be light heavyweight Adrian Diaconu, (24-0) as he finally meets WBC belt holder Chad Dawson, a much anticipated match up that was scuttled earlier this year due to a Diaconu hand injury.

Runner’s Up: Joachim Alcine, (30-0, 19KO’s), Steve Molitor (25-0, 10KO’s)

Canada has not one, not two, but THREE world title holders right now. Joachim Alcine’s WBA junior middleweight win over Travis Simms in July might not have been pretty, but he got the job done, and brought the belt back to Montreal. His first defense went smoothly, a strong win against Alfonso Mosquera. He even had his own theme song, a la Ricky Hatton. And Steve Molitor, the veteran of the group, is the fighter who started it all by winning the IBF super bantamweight title in late 2006. He single-handedly kept the boxing scene in Ontario alive in 2007, successfully defending twice this year in his home province.

Mark Woolnough’s State of Mind

Mark Woolnough has not fought since September 2004. He is set to get back into the ring this Thursday night in Vancouver, on a card called “Vancouver Fights”, which will feature some of the best boxers that the West Coast has to offer. And three years ago, Woolnough was one of the best in British Columbia. One of the best in Canada.

But that was then and this is now. The reality of now is that he is a former Canadian super middleweight champion on the comeback trail starting again on small club shows. He will begin on Thursday against Chicago’s Michael Rush (1-9), a good opponent for a first fight back, but a far cry from his last opponent, the great Otis Grant, to whom Woolnough(14-5-1) lost his Canadian title back in 2004 in Montreal. He is looking for a few tune-up fights to get him onto the path to the championship and is excited to prove that he is still a talented fighter.

Vancouver Fights: One week to go before live professional boxing returns to Vancouver

VANCOUVER FIGHTS

LIVE PROFESSIONAL BOXING
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 27 – 7:30PM
THE CROATIAN CULTURAL CENTRE
3250 COMMERCIAL DRIVE

FUTURE CHAMPIONS AJ BONE, BROTHER ALBERT “THE PUNISHER” ONOLUNOSE AND COUSIN JULIUS “BAZUKA” ODION READY FOR A FISTIC FAMILY REUNION

Vancouver, BC (September 20, 2007) – With only one week to go before live professional boxing returns to Vancouver’s East Side,  two brothers and a cousin are getting ready to attend their family reunion – in the ring.

Double Jab Promotions presents an all action evening of professional boxing, headlined by local favourite and future world champion, cruiserweight AJ Bone. Bone, a Commonwealth Games gold medalist and Olympian has a professional record of 2-0 and is ready to knock out his next victim in what is sure to be a crowd pleasing performance.  Bone’s brother, super middleweight Albert “The Punisher” Onolunose (12-0) will be making his Vancouver debut, and is just a few fights away from a Canadian title shot.  Completing the family is their cousin Julius “Bazuka” Odion (10-0).  Don’t miss your chance to see all three in action on Thursday September 27.

“Vancouver Fights” will also feature former Canadian champion Mark “The Machine Gun” Woolnough of Qualicum Beach, BC. Woolnough will be returning to the ring for the first time since 2004. This talented super middleweight is back on the scene, and ready to fight his way back to the belt. His journey starts here in Vancouver on September 27.

Rounding out the evening are local favourites Andy Mavros (3-0), and Paul Tryl (3-1).

If you are looking for a night of professional boxing at its very best, courtesy of Western Canada’s best boxers, don’t miss “Vancouver Fights” on Thursday September 27 at 7:30PM at The Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Drive.

TICKETS: GENERAL ADMISSION: $50    RINGSIDE: $75
GROUP RATES AVAILABLE

For tickets and further information please call
Kevin Howard: 604.988.3684
Gillian Armstrong: 604.908.4455
www.vancouverfights.com

Pure Pascal

Tonight in Montreal, Jean Pascal moved even further up the ladder in the super middleweight division, retaining his NABF belt with a surprisingly straightforward win over the veteran Nigerian Canadian Kingsley Ikeke.

Pascal improves his record to 18-0, while Ikeke, fighting for the first time at 168 and the first time in 20 months, drops to 23-3.

Pascal made his one sided victory look easy from bell to bell, neutralizing Ikeke’s enormous height advantage and making him fight on the inside. The two men almost appeared as if they were the same height at times. Ikeke’s 6’4 frame should have towered over Pascal’s more modest 5’11, but Ikeke fought small, hunching over and trying to bring the fight to the hometown boy, who was noticeably stronger.

Big mistake. Pascal seized the opportunity every chance he got to remind Ikeke of that fact, mostly with hard shots to the noggin. Ikeke, who is not known for anything remotely resembling smooth, looked even more awkward than usual Friday night, his head movements sometimes resembling those of a break dancer doing the robot and his body looking like it was done up in twine.

The confidence that is a big part of the Pascal program was in full effect throughout the course of the fight. He waited around, with his hands down and oozed into the many openings that Ikeke offered up, springing into the holes and landing precise power punches (the right hand was the punch of choice) to the Ikeke bobblehead in front of him.

The crowd would get a little taste of the speed that Pascal is known for in each round, most notably the 4^th, 5^th and 8^th. Like heroin addicts, they wanted more, but Pascal was relaxed and unhurried throughout most of the battle, not giving it up for long periods. He almost appeared annoyed to find Ikeke still standing in front of him come the 8^th round, and tried (but failed) to finish the job in the 9^th, when Ikeke looked like he was on his way down in the last seconds.  The cross expression on Pascal’s face could also have been his default expression for pain, as he appeared to injure his right hand in the 11^th.

Pascal called himself the “best pound for pound prospect in the world.” His performance tonight, while impressive, lacked a bit of spark and hustle. He certainly proved that he has places to go, and time to get there. But it would have been nice to get another hit.

Scores were 118-110, 117-111 and 115-113.