(Post Fight) Wladimir Klitschko vs Kubrat Pulev

Klitschko once again extends his heavyweight reign with a 5th round KO of the ex-undefeated contender, Kubrat Pulev.

As suspected, the fight was full of holding with a few rabbit punches added in for good measure. The first round saw Pulev on the attack trying to land his power shots. While trying to do so, he was caught by a left hook and fell to the canvas. Pulev was then knocked down again in same round, by the same shot. Both of these knockdowns could have been avoided if Pulev didn't rush in like some kind of wild animal, especially against a guy like Klitschko.

After being dropped twice in the 1st round it is easy to guess that Pulev had a massive confidence drop and so would not be willing to fire off as many shots as he had wanted to like in the 1st round.

Pulev showed hardly any head movement and so was just a massive target for Wladimirs powerful jab-right hand combinations and sneaky left hooks.

In the 3rd round, Pulev was dropped once again by Klitschko's left hook... Talk about learning from your mistakes. Although, a slight push helped Pulev on his way to the floor. Wladimir appeared to be purposely holding onto Pulev so he could keep the fight going for a bit longer. Just to give the fans their monies worth. If he had not done this, he would have KO'ed Pulev in the first or second round.

The 5th round saw the same formula from the rest of the fight. Few punches thrown, holding and then Pulev, once again, leaves himself wide open while throwing his right hand and Wladimir lands with the same left hook that dropped Pulev the last 3 times.

Pulev could have easily avoided the knockdowns and possible the KO by:

• Throwing his right hand quicker and pulling it back into place before Wladimir launched his left hook
• Being less aggressive in the opening rounds and instead waiting until Klitschko had become tired in the later rounds
• Using much more head movement (Obviously not quite as much as David Haye but even a little would have helped)
• Using more lateral movement to avoid Wladimir's counters (Similar to that of Kovalev when he faced Hopkins).

So, once again, Wladimir Klitschko continues to cement himself as one of the best Heavyweights to ever grace the planet. After this performance, I can't see many current heavyweight's giving Wlad any problems whatsoever. Wilder is still untested, his next fight may silence some of his critics if he wins. Fury has the heart of a lion but, like Pulev, is open to counters. Like Wilder, Stiverne needs to prove himself as he has only really beaten one decent heavy; an overweight Arreola. Povetkin has already been beaten by Klitschko and Glazkov has only beaten one 'okay' heavyweight; Adamek, who was TKO10 by Wladimir's older brother Vitali.

I expect to see Klitschko continue his winning streak until he himself wants to end it. 

(Prediction) Manny Pacquiao vs Chris Algieri

After a good win against the aggressive Russian Provodnikov, Chris Algieri has been given the chance to show his skills against the legendary Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao. He has notable wins over Emmanuel Taylor and, as mentioned above, Ruslan Provodnikov. Apart from these 2 wins Algieri hasn’t really fought anyone who can be considered a top contender. So it is difficult to understand why Pacquiao has been given the go ahead to fight the 20-0 (8) contender.

Manny Pacquiao will be defending his WBO welterweight title with a record of 56-5-2 (38). Pacquiao’s last 3 fights have been against top opposition. One loss against Marquez, one win against Brandon Rios and one win against ex-undefeated contender, Timothy Bradley. Pacquiao looked fairly good in all three of these fights. Even in his KO loss to Marquez, Pacquiao was easily beatin Marquez with his blistering speed and great footwork up until the 6th round. The Rios fight was a walk in the park for Pacquiao as he used he greater hand speed and lightening fast combinations to overwhelm the very passive Brandon Rios. In his 2nd fight against Timothy Bradley, both seemed to be evenly matched. I thought it was a draw or even a slight win for Bradley but the powers that be had the fight in favor of Manny Pacquiao. Some of the score cards were a bit suspect but that can be discussed another day.

When the 22nd of November comes, Chris Algieri will definitely have the advantage in height and reach. He will use his solid jab to set Pacquiao up with 1-2 combinations. As with the Provodnikov fight, Algieri will need to keep circling around Pacquiao to ensure that he can never fire off more than 1 or 2 punches. Compared with Provodnikov, Pacquiao isn’t as good at cutting off the ring and with his age, will not be as mobile as he used to be so it’ll will be difficult to catch the slippery, 5’10, long armed Algieri.

Manny Pacquiao will have to follow Algieri around the ring in order for him to land punches because he lacks the height and reach to wait for Algieri to come to him. To win the fight Pacquiao will need to somehow force Algieri onto the ropes or into the corners and then unload rapid combinations. Even with a low knockout rate, Algieri could catch Pacquiao with a right hand and send the Filipino onto the canvas. So Pacquiao must also make sure to remember his defense.

I have a feeling that Algieri will win a Unanimous decision unless Pacquiao can catch Algieri in the early rounds. Which is entirely possible, especially after the Provodnikov fight.

(Prediction) Wladimir Klitschko vs Kubrat Pulev

Airing live from Germany, Wladimir Klitschko faces off against the undefeated Bulgarian, Kubrat Pulev, on the 15th of November.

The fight was meant to take place earlier on in the year but was set forward because Klitschko injured himself in training. With the fight postponed, both fighters were able to train more and become more focused for the fight. I expect it was especially helpful for Pulev as he had no injury to get over and so could stay calm and maintain a steady diet and fitness schedule. Obviously he wouldn't have over-trained but he would have kept himself in good shape throughout the time they were meant to be fighting. Klitschko, however, would have been worrying about his injury. So his fitness levels would not have been kept at a consistent level.

With that in mind, I expect this fight to be a competitive one. The hungry bulgarian contender vs the experienced Ukrainian champion. Pulev will enter the ring with a record of 20-0 (11). With wins over Tony Thompson (UD), Ustinov (KO11) and Dimitrenko (KO11), all of whom are no push overs, fans can expect Pulev to give Klitschko a solid test. Especially with Pulev's awkward style.

With a record of 62-3 (52) wins, Wladimir will enter the ring as favourite as he has proved that he can still compete with top contenders. Klitschko's last 2 out of 3 fights have been against rather disappointing opposition (Exluding Povetkin). After his loss to Wladimir, Pianeta went on to KO fighters nobody has even heard of. While Alex Leapai has just lost to the Wilder leftover, Malik Scott.

Regardless, I still believe Klitschko to be on top of his game. I expect the first few rounds will be won by Pulev. He has quite an awkward style but I expect Klitschko to figure him out from the 4th round onwards. From there on, Klitschko will pepper the contender with 1-2 combinations, step in, and hold onto Pulev. While in the hold, he will use his sheer size to weaken and tire the slightly smaller Bulgarian.

It could be possible for Pulev to use his movement to move away from Klitschko's hold but I think in the end, Wladimir's experience at top level will prove too much for the Bulgarian.

(Post Fight) Bernard Hopkins vs Sergey Kovalev

Two Light-Heavyweight giants faced off on the 8th November in Atlantic City to decide who would become the top fighter in the division. Bernard Hopkins was willing to risk his IBF and WBA super Light-Heavyweight Titles while Kovalev put his WBO title on the line.

Many felt as though Hopkins would use ring experience, intelligence and overall ability to defeat the hard-hitting Russian. Others thought that Kovalev would simply out work and eventually stop the much older Hopkins. As to much suprise, neither prediction would prove to be true.

Hopkins entered the ring with a record of 54-7-2 (32) and 2 NC. Kovalev entered with 25-0-1 (23). With a record like Kovalev's, it is easy to see why somebody might think he could simply trample all over Hopkins.

Kovalev gained Hopkin's respect immediately as he floored the tricky 49 year old in the 1st round. Kovalev timed the shot so well it appeared that Hopkins had slipped or lost his footing but a the punch still connected and Hopkins was given the count by the referee. As the round went on, Kovalev looked the much stronger of the two as he manhandled Hopkins in the clinches.

Round after round, Kovalev continued to stalk The Alien around the ring and all the while, land jab and right hand combinations. Even while missing the scoring shots, Kovalev would find anywhere else to land his shots; whether on the shoulder, arm, hip. Each shot Kovalev threw was thrown with force and each time Hopkins was hit clean, his head would snap back and it would appear that the 1st would be repeated. Each time Hopkins tried to get in close and hold Kovalev, he would find himself underneath Kovalev's armpit with the hard-hitting Russian using all of his weight to try and weaken the 49 year-old.

Hopkin's almost fell in the 8th round when Kovalev connected with a big right hand but somehow the veteran managed to stay up and see the end of the round.  Many in the crowd thought that Hopkins might be making a comeback in the 10th round when he landed with two counter hooks. This slight burst was short-lived.

The 12th round was a difficult one to watch as Kovalev would continously land with powerful right hands. Hopkins was being thrown around the ring like a ragdoll but the referee allowed the fight to go on. The judges scored the fight 120-107/120-107/ 120-106

In with the old and out with the new. Hopkins showed his massive heart and proved to fans that he is an All Time Great. Kovalev silenced critics as he showed fans around the world that not only can he punch but he can also box.

With the IBF, WBA and WBO titles in his possesion, Kovalev will be looking to add the WBC belt to his collection and will also be hopeful that Adonis Stevenson comes looking for him as the 'Krusher' has surely proven that he is the man to beat within the Light-Heavyweight division.