4/27/07 - Jim Amato CHAGAEV CHANGES HEAVYWEIGHT PICTURE By Jim Amato article written 4-21-07 Ruslan Chagaev's victory over Nickolay Valuev to capture the WBA version of the title could be the start of a chain reaction that may change the whole landscape of the heavyweight picture. There was immediate talk of a rematch with Valuev but nothing more has been said. There have been rumors of Chagaev meeting former WBO titleholder Sergei Liakhovich but as of right now they are just that, rumors. Current WBO champion Shannon Briggs is set to take on Sultan Ibragimov. WBC title claimant Oleg Maskaev will put his title on the line against dangerous Samuel Peter. The IBF champion and the boxer regarded by most as the best heavyweight in the world, Wladimir Klitschko will defend against previous conqueror Lamon Brewster. It will be very interesting to see which four are left standing after the smoke clears. If Liakhovich does meet Chagaev I like Sergei's chances. Liakhovich is a very well schooled boxer who is effective punching to the head and body with both hands. I believe his lead rights up and down will be effective against the southpaw Chagaev. The Liakhovich of sound mind and body who defeated Lamon Brewster should be able to defeat Chagaev. Briggs - Ibragimov could result in a very short night. On most occasions Briggs is a slow starter and he's even slower now with his added bulk. Ibragimov is somewhat small by today's standards and he'll never be compared to Ken Norton or Mike Weaver in the physique department. Still he has excellent hand speed and power. I'm afraid he may surprise Briggs early and put him in danger. Shannon does not possess George Chuvalo's chin. An early KO victory for Sultan would not surprise me a bit. Obviously though the longer the fight goes on, the better the chances are for Briggs. Maskaev - Peter could be an entertaining and thrilling slugfest while it lasts. I really don't think it will last long though. Maskaev is game but his chin has caved in a few times before. Sam Peter has power and Oleg will be right there to be hit. Neither fighter is known for their evasive defense. Bombs will thrown and bombs will land. The difference could by Sam Peter's chin. Klitschko - Brewster II...My gut feeling here is that this fight was a mistake. Many have counted Lamon out after his close loss to Liakhovich and his long layoff due to an eye injury suffered in that battle. They remind us of how Wladimir had dominated Brewster in their first encounter until he tired. They say Klitschko grew tired from throwing and landing so many punches against Lamon. There may be some truth to this but the bottom line is Brewster sucked it all up. He took everything and then when he unloaded with his big guns, Wladimir's weak chin was unable to absorb the shock of those blows. Going into this rematch Lamon knows he can hurt Klitschko and Wladimir knows Brewster can hurt him. Somewhere along the line Lamon will land a bomb and Klitschko's weakness will be exposed again. There is going to be some moving and shaking in the heavyweight division in the months ahead. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Will the winners try to fight each other in an attempt to unify the crown ? This is very doubtful as the winner of Maskaev - Peter is to meet former WBC champ Vitali Klitschko. Still we may be moving closer to a day when we have one unified and undisputed heavyweight champion. We can only hope... 
 CAN ACELINO OUT BOX THE " BULL " ? By Jim Amato article written 4-24-07 This Saturday at The Foxwoods in Connecticut there will be a lightweight unification fight between WBO title holder Acelino Freitas and WBA kingpin Juan Diaz. Freitas of Brazil was a long time WBO Super Featherweight champion. He failed to win the WBO lightweight title in his first attempt when he was halted by the dangerous Diego Corrales in 2004. The now 31 year old Freitas claimed the vacated WBO crown in 2006 with a split decision over the slick Zahir Raheem. The 23 year old Juan Diaz was born in Mexico but fights out of Houston, Texas. He is undefeated in thirty one fights and he has held the WBA version of the title since beating Lavka Kim in 2004. He has made five successful defenses. Between the two fighters their combined record is 69-1 ! Freitas of Brazil has scored thirty two knockouts. Thirteen have come in the first round. He is a fast handed boxer who is also quite nimble on his feet. His most significant victory was a close decision over Joel Casamayor in 2002 but his most exciting battle was the war he waged with Jorge Barrios in 2003. What a great fight that finally ended in the twelfth round with Acelino as the winner. Outside of his impressive win over Kim, Juan's best contest was his decision over Jose Cotto. Although Juan is not a devastating puncher he is an aggressive, non stop action brawler. Juan's opponents get very little time to rest when their in the ring with him. So how do Diaz and Freitas match up ? This will be by far the best fighter young Diaz has met up to this point in his career. Freitas will bring speed, power and experience into the ring with him. Diaz has youth and strength on his side but will it be enough ? Acelino showed in his loss to Corrales that his spirit can be broken. Please remember though he was boxing well until he began to tire around the eighth round. Then he started getting tagged by one of the hardest punchers pound for pound in the world today. Against Barrios in a savage battle of attrition, Acelino endured and finally took out his game rival. Diaz can not be compared to Corrales in the power department. For Juan to win he must do what he does best and that is come forward throwing punches relentlessly. He can not afford to give Freitas any room to use his mobility. He needs to pin Acelino on the ropes and pound the body in an effort to slow him down. Hopefully as the bout wears on the strength of Diaz and the pace of the bout will take most of the fight out of Freitas. For Acelino to win he must box but it would be to his benefit if he could hurt Diaz early and get his respect. Land something that will slow down the young bull's aggressiveness. He needs to give Diaz a lot of angles and movement so Diaz will not be able to stay set and punch away. When Diaz does get inside he has to let his hands go and show Diaz that he can hold his own in the trenches. I look for a pretty entertaining fight. On paper, this is a good pairing. I see Freitas taking an early lead but as the seventh rolls around I see the younger, stronger Diaz beginning to enforce his will. Freitas will fight in flurries but Juan will keep chopping away at that early deficit. I see a very, very close fight but I feel youth will be served and Juan Diaz will win a close points call. jimsboxing@zoominternet.net
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